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TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS 



BY 



MRS. M. D. WELLCOME 



Thank God for the beautiful flowers 
That blossom so sweetly and fair; 

They garnish this strange life of ours, 
And brighten our paths everywhere. 

DEXTER SMITH. 




PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, 

BY I. C. WELLCOME, 

YARMOUTH, ME. 



[iff (J 



<rr 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1SS1, 

By I. C. WELLCOME, * 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, 



<KX 



05 



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PRINTED BY B. THURSTON & CO. 
PORTLAND, MAINE. 



PREFACE. 

To all Flower Lovers who may read these pages, we come with kindly greetings . 
To you we dedicate our Work. 

Encouraged by the many testimonials of favor with which our Flower Sketches have 
been received, which have appeared in the Boston Journal, Portland Transcript, and 
the leading Floricultural journals, we were induced to prepare this volume, intending 
it to be made up chiefly of those articles revised and enlarged for this purpose ; but 
after entering upon this work, we found so little that was adapted for use, nearly every 
page has been written while the sheets were passing through the press. 

Before we were aware, the printed matter had exceeded our proposed limits, and we 
were obliged to enlarge the work by additional pages, and even then omit our chapter 
of " Floricultural Notes," for we wished to put the book at a low price, that it might 
reach the masses. As it is, we are sure that we have given you a great amount of val- 
uable information, and just such as amateurs need, respecting the habits and require- 
ments of those flowers which are best adapted for general cultivation, and in a form 
specially new and attractive, combining the history and literature of flowers, with de- 
scription and mode of culture. 

It may be deemed strange that we should omit from a work of this character a 
"Talk " about the Queen of Flowers, but the subject was so full that we thought best to 
devote the space to other varieties and refer our readers to our recently published 
" Essay on Roses," — advertised in another part of this work— in which they will find 
the subject fully treated. 

We would here acknowledge our obligation to Mr. James Vick for the beautiful Bou- 
quet of Flowers which constitutes our Frontispiece. 

Mrs. M. D. Wellcoms, 

Yarmouth^ Me., June 9, 1881. 

(5) 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Introduction • •••••• 9 

A Talk to Farmers' Wives . 12 

A Talk About "The Wild Garden" 15 

A Talk About Stocking the Garden 19 

Phlox Drummondii . , 24 

Verbenas . . 25 

Petunias . . 29 

Pansies 33 

Asters 35 

Balsams 37 

A Talk About Geraniums . . . . . • •• • ••39 

A Talk About Begonias ...•• 46 

Gloxinia, Tuberose •••••••5° 

A Talk About Gladiolus . . .54 

A Talk About Pelargoniums 60 

A Talk About Fuchsias 69 

A Talk About Coleuses 73 

Ornamental Foliage Plants •••••83 

A Talk About Primroses 9$ 

Carnations and Picotees 101 

A Talk About Climbers . 107 

Thoughts in My Garden— A Poem . . . . . . . . 117 

(7) 



8 CONTENTS. 

A Talk About Several Things 118 

The Love of Flowers . . . 122 

A Talk About Abutilons 125 

A Talk About Dahlias 130 

Amaryllis 135 

Hoya Carnosa or Wax Plant 137 

Among My Flowers . . . ' 138 

A Talk About Cyclamens and Oxalis . • 143 

A Talk About Lilies 147 

Double Bouvardia ic 2 

Camellia Japonica ! 1-4 

Azalea l rr 

The Ingathering of the Flowers 156 

My Window Box , . , jcy 

Hyacinths ■ . ic8 

Insects 160 




imhedmeUem, 

" Thank God for the beautiful flowers, 
That blossom so sweetly and fair ; 
They garnish this strange life of ours, 
And brighten our paths everywhere." 
Dexter Smith, 

HAVE been thinking for some time of writing a few articles 
about flowers, not for the entertainment nor instruction 
of those who have extensive gardens artistically laid out, 
and fine conservatories with skilled gardeners to care for 
the rare and costly plants, but for those, who, like myself, have only 
a few beds filled with flowers, cared for by one's own self. 

Every year there is a marked advance in the floricultural king- 
dom. Books and periodicals devoted to flower culture are on the 
increase ; florists are enlarging their domain ; catalogues are scat- 
tered broadcast, and as free as autumn leaves, some of them 
beautiful with their colored plates, handsome enough to frame. Very 
many of the literary, religious, and political journals of the day 
have their floral department, in which the ladies gossip of their 
experience and exchange opinions, and we doubt if any column is 
read with greater interest. 

What recreation for the mind and body more pure, refining 
healthful, than that of the cultivation of flowers ? How they reveal 
the Father's love, and wisdom, and power ! How perfect his work ! 
Very fully have I realized this, as I have examined bud, blossom, 
and leaf under the microscope. Its magnifying power when applied 
to man's work, reveals coarseness and imperfection, but in God's 
work only reveals new beauties, and greater perfectness. The tiny 
flower, the details of which cannot be perceived by the eye unaided, 

(9) 



10 TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 

when magnified, surprises us with its loveliness. We wonder and 
adore that Being whose hand created its perfect form and arranged 
its tints with so much harmony. The study of flowers with the 
microscope is one of never failing delight, and one needs not the 
costly instrument to enjoy this study. The round open glass, the 
size of a half dollar, and costing the same, serves every needful 
purpose. 

Not only have I enjoyed the examination of flowers, but also of 
insect life, specially of those terrible pests to our rosebushes and 
some other plants — the aphides. I have closely watched their 
development, from the tiny egg to the portly insect, so filled with 
the juice of the leaf, that like it, he is green all over. First I ob- 
serve a little speck of red in the egg — then it has slight motion — 
next it runs about, and the spot is a little larger, sometimes it is 
black. Sometimes the baby aphis is all red. Now and then I find 
a different sort mixed up with them ; the body is much larger and 
transparent white. Some have wings. Skeletons, or more prop- 
erly, cast-off skins, are often seen, but with the closest observation 
I have never been able to trace these to their source. Once, I was 
sure that a fellow was divesting himself of his overcoat, and I 
watched him till my eyes ached too badly for further investigation. 

These insects are the cows of a certain species of ant, and I am 
sure they are quite welcome to all I have, provided they will have 
their yard on other premises, though I would like to detain them 
long enough to see the milking process. Some have seen it and 
written about it, so, strange as it seems, it is no fiction. 

In this series of articles which I have entitled " Talks About 
Flowers," I shall, in a very informal manner, talk to you about just 
those matters pertaining to the flower garden, in which beginners and 
amateurs are interested ; to this class I belong ; I am not a 
skilled florist, my experience is limited ; I am only a student in the 
lower classes of floriculture, but I dearly love my lessons. I am 



TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 11 

acquiring knowledge both from books and personal observation, and 
I shall enjoy imparting to those not so favored with time and 
resources the results of this study, believing it will be duly appre- 
ciated by my readers, and their interest in the cultivation of flowers 
be thereby increased. I shall talk to you about the sowing of seeds, 
the arrangement of your garden, the plants with which to stock it, 
treating of them historically and descriptively, with mode of culture. 
I shall talk to you about the most desirable bulbs, about climbing 
plants, hanging pots, and the window garden, and shall seek to meet 
in all these the wishes of many inquirers. 



''* Not useless are ye flowers, though made for pleasure, 
Blooming in field and wood by day and night ; 
From every source your presence bids me treasure 
Harmless delight." 

'NCE more I take my pen in hand," as the old time 
epistle was wont to begin. While a " Young Farmer " 
&5pf% discourseth of matters pertaining to the farm, I pro- 
m)> p 0Se to ta jk to farmers' wives and daughters of matters 
relating to the flower garden. This article is specially dedicated 
to them, and not to them as a whole, but to that class among them 
who take no periodical devoted to flower culture, and find no time 
even to study the various catalogues scattered broadcast, as sure 
precursors of spring as are the falling leaves of autumn. Therefore 
you who have your floral papers, your bay windows filled with plants, 
or your fine conservatories, whether a farmer's wife or not, this is 
not written for you, and you need not read any further. 

There are many farmers' wives who give little attention to the 
cultivation of flowers. Busy lives the most of them lead, and their 
indoor work shuts them off largely from the enjoyment of those 
beauties nature has so lavishly spread around them. It is a pity 
that any of them should say, "I have no time to waste over flowers; 
they bring neither food nor clothing." 

Call that wasted time when tired, nervous, fretful perhaps, you 
leave the heated rooms and run out to see if the seeds you sowed 
last week have come up, or how the seedlings you sot out are 
thriving ? To look at that opening rosebud, pick off tho withered 
leaves from the geranium, stir the earth a bit around that heliotrope, 
and linger over the dear little pansies as their bright fac es are up- 

(12) 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



13 



turned to greet you and cheer you with their diversified beauty ? 
Gather a few ; they will bloom all the more because of it. There, 
now, don't you feel nicely rested ? The feeling of fretfulness is all 
gone. Refreshed in body and mind, you resume your housework, 
and accomplish it much more effectively than if you had kept right 
on, so tired and all out of sorts. Better far these moments of out- 
door recreation than blue pill or bitters. All this is anticipatory of 
the "good time coming" to you this summer. That kind husband 
of yours when he goes to the store to buy his garden seeds, or or- 
der them from abroad, is going to include an equal number of flower 
seeds. He would have done it long ago but he did not think any- 
thing about it. But you are going to give him a hint this spring. 
You can tell him that in the general seed box there is one corner 
where are certain dainty little packages labeled Candytuft—purple, 
carmine, white or mixed; Mignonnette, Aster, Balsam, Pink, Petunia, 
Sweet Peas, etc., etc., and you tell him that those Sweet Peas bloom 
the most fragrant blossoms for five months, while his " Extra 
Early," whether " Blue Peter " or " Blue Tom Thumb," last only a 
little while. So as he goes on his way he will think to himself, 
" Wife works hard ; she makes capital butter and keeps the house 
real tidy, and I guess I must indulge her." When he returns home 
he gives you those little packages, in each tiny brown seed of which 
there lies hidden a beautiful life — a life that shall, by loving care, 
develop " the red, white and blue" in settings of emerald, the influ- 
ence of which shall be felt by the entire household, and bring forth 
a fruitage of brightness, gladness and love. 

It may be that you live remote from the village store, or perhaps 
there may not be kept there a good, reliable assortment of flower 
seeds, so I will tell you what to do in that case, for I wish to be 
helpful every step of the way. You must send to some good florist 
for what you want, enclosing stamps, if for an amount less than one 
dollar. You have your seeds now, and some of them need to be 



14 TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 

started in the house in order to secure early flowers, Asters, Petu- 
nias, Pinks, Pansies, Snapdragon and Sweet Peas. Sift your earth 
through a coarse sieve. A little sharp sand is good to mix with it. 
Shallow boxes are best, except for the peas. I use cigar boxes. 
Dampen the earth, then sow thickly in rows, cover lightly with 
more soil, dampen again, label, cover with paper so that the moist- 
ure may not evaporate rapidly, and place in a sunny window. Daily 
sprinkle through a fine rose pot, or with your fingers lightly if you 
have none. However good your seeds may be, they will not grow 
if kept dry, and will rot if kept too wet. The seedlings must be 
nursed with care, not too much sun while tender. I do not thin 
out mine till I transplant to the border, but many do, potting them 
singfy. Peas can be set out earliest of any. Sunny days in May 
often tempt one to bed out their tender plants, and sow seed in 
open ground; then come cold nights, when the fragile seedlings 
need a hot soapstone to their feet. It is best to wait till warm 
weather is fully established, and then choose a cloudy day for the 
work. Protect from the sun's rays till the plants are established in 
their new quarters. Now, all this looks like much work and care, 
I know, but it is only a little work, a little care each day, and it is a 
work that will be a restful change, and bring you better health and 
better feelings, and when you gather the lovely flowers from the 
seeds you have sown and cultured, you will not say : " My time was 
all misspent." 




: §at% Jffeufi H §i\^ ffflif f&ardqn." 

The lengthened days have come. 
The busiest of the year — 

HEN the annual house cleaning treads heavily on the toes 
of spring gardening, and one feels tempted to crowd the 

p!§|S work of two days into one, though sufficient for the pres- 
ent is the work thereof. The bright warm days draw 
one forth to spend "an hour or two" they say, and they mean it 
too — with shovel or spade in hand to prepare the flower beds, but 
the air is so refreshing, and there is so much to be done, that they 
keep on "a little while longer," "just a few minutes more," till Sol 
pours his burning rays down upon them with the unmistakable as- 
surance that it is near the hour of noon. 

These are the days that try men's souls, and women's, too ; days 
when one wishes with Dudley Warner for a " cast iron back," but 
would fain add the improvement of rubber hinges ; days when the 
inquiry is often provoked, " Will it pay ? " 

As we change the numerous boxes of seedlings from one position 
to another, that they may catch the sunbeams, " Will it pay ? " As 
we take them out of doors these warm days, and bring them all 
back again at night, lest the air prove too harsh for the tender things, 
"Will it pay?" 

Yes, we know from past experience that it will pay even a hun- 
dred fold for all our care when the restful days shall come, and we 
watch with hopeful hearts each bud of promise as it grows, and 
gather our hands full of lovely flowers, the fruitage of our seed 
sowing and unceasing care. 

Have been bedding out to-day my old stocky geraniums, after 

(15) 



1 6 TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 

cutting off all the dead and unsightly branches. These were just 
packed into large boxes in the autumn — as closely as possible — dirt 
then thrown in to fill up the spaces, and they were put into the cel- 
lar and severely let alone till the weather admitted of their being 
taken out of doors. 

Many throw away their geraniums, if the stalks decay by being 
frost-bitten or for some other cause, when often the roots are alive, 
and with proper care will sprout again. I had a few in my window 
box that were touched by frost one intense cold night in December, 
and died down to the roots. To mv surprise, they sprouted in 
March, for I did not suppose they would be seemingly lifeless so 
long in a sunny window. 

Some of my neighbors hang up their large geraniums by the 
roots in the cellar, and thus keep them throughout the winter nicely, 
but I have never been successful with this method. 

My house plants are nearly all re-potted, ready to be plunged into 
the ground the first of June. I put in a bit of potsherd to keep 
the roots from going astray, then small pieces of coal for drainage, 
then fill with mellow sifted soil, enriched with well-rotted manure. 
I found it so much better last year to bed out in pots that I shall 
practice it more fully this summer. When the time comes in the 
autumn for taking them in doors, the work can be done in half the 
time. 

My seedlings will be six weeks or more in advance than though 
sown in the open border. My sweet peas must go out very soon or 
I shall have to give them a support, they are so tall. 

Now I am going to tell you about another sort of a garden — " a 
spick-span new " sort — and I know you will be pleased to hear about 
it, and I think you will want to have one of your own. 

THE WILD GARDEN. 

Mr. B. K. Bliss, of New York, in a note, said : "We have put 



TALKS ABO UT FL O WERS. 1 7 

into your box a packet of flower seeds for the wild garden, which 
we think will interest you. We also send you the initial number 
of our new paper, " The American Garden." In this journal I find 
a very interesting article on " The Wild Garden," how to make it, 
and a description of one at the country residence of Mr. M. S. 
Beach, near Peekskill, from his own pen. We will quote a part of 
it. He says : " We plowed a strip about six feet wide all around 
a five-acre field, close to the fence. On this plowed ground,, the 
seed, previously well mixed, was thrown just as it happened to 
come. The surface having afterwards been well smoothed over, we 
waited the result. This proved satisfactory. We had a wild garden 
indeed. The plants came up as thickly as they could grow, and 
flourished and blossomed as freely as though they had enjoyed all 
the care usually given to hot-house exotics. 

" Sweet Alyssum, Mignonnette, the pretty blue Nemophila and 
bright colored Phlox Drummondii seemed to cover the ground. 
Morning Glories of every shade and delicate Cypress vines tried to. 
cover the fences and run up every tree. Quaint little yellow and 
green Gourds appeared in the most unexpected places, and the 
whole bed seemed to be ablaze with the orange and yellow of the 
Eschscholtzia, Marigolds, Calendula Officinalis and Zinnias. One 
of the chief charms of this wild flower bed was the variety and 
change — not from season to season, but from day to day. Every 
morning would find some new, unexpected, and previously forgotten 
flower in bloom." 

The packet of Flower Seeds for the " Wild Garden " consists of 
more than a hundred varieties, sufficient for a square rod of ground. 
There must needs be a peculiar charm in the " Wild Garden." When 
one wearies of the monotonous ribbon beds and geometrical de- 
signs so long in fashion, they can turn to the spot where flowers 
run riot at their own sweet will, and give daily surprises because 
sown broadcast without any regard to their names and location. 



18 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

Multitudes there are, who, with abundance of land at their com- 
mand, can have one on a large scale, others can have, but a small 
spot. There are many who have ground specially adapted by its 
wildness for the blending of the cultivated flowers with those which 
grow in their native dells or woods. Wild shrubs, wild flowers, 
wild climbers, can be transplanted to situations quite like their own. 
There can be ferneries and rockeries, beds of violets and wild 
evergreens, and combined with careless grace, such tropical plants 
and brilliant annuals as would give the most pleasing effect and 
afford a beauty wholly unique. 



fPJff iptp |p« 

Make your home beautiful — bring to it flowers; 

Plant them around you to bud and to bloom; 
Let them give light to your loneliest hours — 

Let them bring light to enliven your gloom; 
If you can do so, O make it an Eden 

Of beauty and gladness almost divine; 
'Twill teach you to long for that home you are needing, 

The earth robed in beauty beyond this dark clime. 



Full |P«i ^he^lng tfa fiardgu 




" The flowers we love ? — They are those we gathered 
Years ago, when we played at home ! 
Flowers by the door stone, dropped and scattered 
Here and there as a child would roam." 

OW shall I stock my garden ? " is a question often asked 
by amateurs. That depends very much on the size, 
location and soil of the ground to be furnished. If the 
site is elaborate, and the beds to be geometrically laid 
out, much skill, artistic taste and generous expenditure is needful to 
produce a fine effect. If the flower beds are cut in the lawn a 
different classification and arrangement of plants will be needful. 
If they consist of long beds bordering a walk, or one bed only, be- 
neath the front window, there needs to be a grouping of flowers 
adapted to the situation. None but the " wild garden " ought to 
be stocked hap-hazard style. Arrange always so that there shall be 
a succession of flowers during the entire season, for if you devote 
a space for those of brief duration, you will by and by have a bar- 
ren spot by no means pleasing. The most exposed situations ought, 
of course, to be arranged with special reference to the best possible 
effects or continuity of bloom and harmony of colors. Don't mix 
in all sorts of colors and sizes of plants in any bed. Masses of 
distinctive colors always have a fine effect. Where there are vari- 
eties that have more show of flowers than of leaves, it is well to 
intersperse plants whose beauty lies more in their foliage than in 
blossoms. 

The beautiful Coleuses, Achyranthes and Alternanthera, with 
their richly colored leaves, and Pyrethrums with their vivid green 

(19) 



20 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

lancelated foliage, are very effective for this purpose. Carinas are 
very fine among tall, free blooming plants, particularly for centers. 
Care ought always to be had in selections, so that a tall and coarse 
plant shall never have for its surroundings the low and delicate 
lowers. Imagine the effect of a gorgeous California Sunflower or 
a towering Hollyhock in the midst of a bed of Pansies, or Tea 
Roses, or a Dahlia in a bed of Verbenas ! Have your large stocky 
plants in a bed by themselves, unless it be as a background border 
for the more delicate flowers. A long bed running beside a fence, 
or one beneath the windows of a dwelling-house, can have, with good 
effect, a dense background of shrubs or Pompone Dahlias, or even 
the taller Dahlias, if relieved by a fence. Where there is a large 
bed directly beneath the front windows, a good arrangement is to 
have, first, trailing vines that shall cover far up the sides of the 
dwelling. For this, the Ipomceas are very appropriate ; of these 
there are numerous varieties. /. Bona Nox, with its large fragrant 
blossoms, which however, expand in the evening; Mexicana Graftdi- 
flora Alba, immense flowers of white, long tube, a native of Mexico ; 
grows to the height of ten feet. /. Hederacea Supe'rba is bright blue, 
with white margin, Ivy-like foliage, and /. Fol Mormoratis, a new 
Japanese variety, with foliage beautifully mottled and marbled with 
white ; Coccinea, or " Star" Ipomea, bears a great profusion of small 
flowers, scarlet striped with white. With any of these, vines of the 
Canary Bird Flower intermingled, would have a superb effect ; the 
light green, deeply lacinated leaves and bright, yellow fringed flow- 
ers, proving a marked contrast to the foliage and blossoms of the 
Ipomea. It is a very rapid grower, and will climb and branch out 
ten feet or more. In front of these climbers, or whatever others 
may be preferred, a row of Sweet Peas, quite thickly set, can be 
trained so as to fully cover the vines below the flowering branches, 
and to conceal the unsightliness of these low down, a row of 
Pyrethrums or some dwarf compact plants would be attractive. 



TALKS ABOUT FL O WERS. 21 

Then a walk, if the bed is sufficiently wide. The plants on the 
opposite side can be arranged so as to have those of medium height 
next to the path, and low bedding ones for the foreground. Ver- 
benas are very fine for this, and so is the Double Portulaca. For 
an edging, many things are appropriate ; whether one desires 
merely a low green, or a border of dwarf blooming plants. For 
the latter, we know of nothing prettier than the new dwarf Candy- 
tuft, Tom Thumb. Its habit is low and bushy, and its clusters of 
white blossoms continue a very long time. 

Mr. Vick has for several years recommended Thrift as the best 
edging plant for northern climates. It is easily propagated from 
cuttings ; every piece will make a plant, if taken in the fall or 
spring, and is perfectly hardy. It bears tiny clusters of pink flow- 
ers, and the foliage is fine for floral work. 

In arranging your garden stock study the adaptions of your plants 
to certain positions. Some require for their best development, a 
great deal of sunshine, others require somewhat sheltered positions. 
Portulacas revel in dry and sunny spots, laughing at drought, while 
Pansies love a cool and moist situation, therefore to bed them in a 
sandy soil, and a position where they would be exposed to the in- 
tense sunshine of mid-day, and the Portulaca in the sheltered, 
moist situation would be a great mistake. 

Coleuses ought not to be set in a very open sunny place, but 
with plants that will serve as a protection somewhat, or they will 
lose their vivid markings. We observed this first with C. Shah ; 
when exposed to a strong light, the rich, velvety maroon changed 
to a dull color hue, but when partially shaded it was of a very deep, 
rich color. The next summer we had the beautiful Pictus, and its 
leaves looked as though they were indeed painted with yellow, 
brown and green, but exposed for a time to the direct sunshine 
nearly all day, it changed to a dark green, with brown markings, and, 
robbed of its gold, it possessed no special beauty. We speak only 



22 TALKS ABOUT, FLOWERS. 

of our own experience, which has not been limited by any means 
to these two varieties. We have had a few that would retain their 
distinctive markings well, even in quite an exposed situation. 

In the arrangement of your garden, have it adapted to its sur- 
roundings. The broad leaved Palms, the Tropical Caladiums, the 
stately Cannas, the Cape Jessamine and Crape Myrtle are in perfect 
harmony with the well kept lawn and stately mansion, but quite out 
of place in the simple border of a vegetable garden, or rough grass- 
plot belonging to a low, plain cottage. . 

I will tell you of a bit of a garden furnished in harmony- with its 
surroundings. It was rudely dug and roughly finished by two very 
small hands. It was a very wee bed, indeed. It was fenced on the 
west side by a rough board shed ; on the north by an old stump ; 
the other side and end had no protection. Without any method of 
arrangement, or reference to artistic effects, here was massed the 
following assortment : Monks Hood, Bachelors Buttons, Butter 
and Eggs, Star of Bethlehem, Poppies and Marigolds ; these last 
more odorous than fragrant. Old fashioned flowers truly. 
But they harmonized with their surroundings, and the little pale 
faced child thought them very beautiful. 

It is not essential to harmony however, that the flower bed be 
rudely prepared, though the cot be lowly and its surroundings 
rough ; the garden, however small, can be neatly prepared, provided 
there are stronger and older hands than those of the little maid 
referred to, and there may be a display of taste in the arrangement 
of the most common flowers, in our day at least, where beautiful 
varieties are within reach of all. But it was not so fifty years ago ; 
boxes of flower seeds were not to be found in the shops ; catalogues 
were not scattered broadcast like autumn leaves and as free ; " a 
greenhouse at your door," was not then, as now, a verity. School 
girls exchanged their limited floral treasures, and now and then a 
slip could be begged from the fortunate possessor of a few house 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 23 

plants. But if greenhouse flowers were rare, there were thousands 
in the meadows, on the hills, in the woods ; the sweet May flowers, 
unknown then to the little maiden as the Trailing Arbutus, the 
Anemone, Hepatica, Columbine, Violets of different hues, Wild 
Roses, Gay Lilies, and late in autumn, the lovely fringed Gentian : 

"Each chalice molded in divinest grace, 

Each brimmed with pure, intense and perfect blue." 

What could be more lovely among the garnered treasures of the 
greenhouse? But our talk is a long one, and we will defer to 
another what we have further to say on this subject. 
2 



f § J|te ^mvgigemM 



©9 




1 



" Flowers for gladness and flowers for sorrow, 
Shadowing forth what we fail to tell ; 
Mystic symbols of tender meanings^ 
Such as the heart interprets well." 

|HIS is one of the most desirable of our annuals, coming into 
bloom early in the season and continuing in flower till 
frost. They are very effective in massed colors, and make 
fine ribbon beds. Contrasting shades should be selected. 
A writer in the Garden says that the following are very desirable 
for this purpose : " Phlox Lothair, salmon shaded with violet; Mons 
Henrique, brilliant reddish crimson ; Venus, pure white ; Mons 
Goldenschugh, rosy violet ; Spenceri, dark rosy lilac. An excel- 
lent front edging for this ribbon bed is the variegated Periwinkle. 
In order to grow them thoroughly well, and so to insure a 
lengthened period of blooming, the ground should be deeply trenched 
and well enriched with good manure from the farm yard, and not 
more than six heads of bloom should be allowed to each plant. Thus 
treated, when planted in long lines, it is difficult to convey an im- 
pression of these and similar varieties." 

There are many beautiful varieties of color ; deep blood purple, 
brilliant scarlet, large blue with white eye, not truly a blue, but the 
nearest approach to it of any ; Leopoldii, splendid deep pink, with 
white eye ; Carmine Queen and Violet with a large white eye ; 
Vick's New Double White, the only one that is reliable, from seed, 
to produce double flowers. Then there are the buffs and the stripes, 
crimson striped with white, and rose and purple. Mr. Vick, who 
makes a specialty of the Drummondii Phlox, they being a favorite 
with him, devotes acres to their cultivation, and who has been ex- 

(24) 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 25 

perimenting with them for several years, has produced several new 
sorts that are very fine ; one of them is deep red with a fringed 
edge. There have been very marked improvements since this plant 
was first discovered in Texas by Mr. Drummond, a botanical collector 
sent out by the Glasgow Botanical Society, and it was one of the last, 
if not the very last, sent to Europe by him. He soon after went 
to Cuba, where he died of a fever in the prime of life. Sir N. J. 
Hooker named the plant after its discoverer as a memento. When 
first discovered it was very inferior to the flowers seen in our gar- 
dens, as is very apparent from an engraving of it taken from a 
drawing in Mr. Vick's possession, which was made in 1838, three 
years after its discovery. It is given in Vick's Magazine for Sep- 
tember, 1880, with the items we have cited. The word Phlox signi- 
fies flame, and is supposed to have been applied in allusion to the 
flame-like form of the bud. 

A lady who had excellent success with her seedlings, started 
early in a box, and bedded out one cloudy day in May, says : " I 
was surprised to find flowers on the plants when so young and 
small. I don't believe they had been transplanted five days before 
half of them had flowers, and soon the rest followed, and for more 
than two months my bed has been glorious — a mass of bright colors 
more beautiful than any carpet or dress pattern ever made. It is 
near the middle of September, and if the frost will only keep away, 
it looks as though they would keep on flowering for years. Tell 
everybody to have a Phlox bed and how to do it. It is the cheapest 
pleasure possible." carrie, in Vick's Magazine. 

VERBENAS. 

This we must have, for it is one of the most beautiful annuals 
cultivated. So varied its hues ! So abundant its blooms ! Not a 
brief season of flowering, and then naught but leaves, which are, 
not of themselves attractive, but an increase of blossoms from June 



26 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



till October, and it requires quite a severe frost to mar their beauty. 
They have the best effect massing each color by itself, and beds 
of a circular form cut in the lawn and filled with Verbenas, have a 
superb effect. Seedlings are much the best for bedding out, they 
are so much stronger and more bushy. Those plants offered for 
sale in pots, having one tall slender stem, crowned with a cluster of 
flowers, are almost worthless for the garden. True, if you get a 
healthy one, by layering and pegging down, you can sometimes get 
good plants, but you had better purchase seedlings by the dozen as 
they are offered in boxes and baskets, or order them of the florist 
by mail or express, and you will have plants that will grow compact, 
bloom early and profusely, with far better foliage than the puny 
straggling ones rooted from cuttings. One objection to purchasing 
seedlings by the clump is, I am well aware, the fact that they are 
not labeled as to color, and everybody wants to know that they will 
have at least one scarlet, one white, purple, and so on, and unless 
the color is peeping through the bud, one must buy with the risk 
of not knowing the desired color. This is the true state of the 
case so far as my own observation extends. But it need not be so, 
and we presume it is not so everywhere. Seedlings can be raised 
of course with each of the leading colors separate, and those in 
greatest demand in large quantities to meet the wants of the gen- 
eral public, while the fancy sorts can be of mixed varieties. Those 
who raise their own seedlings, usually buy a paper of mixed sorts, 
so in that case they are no better off than those who purchase seed- 
lings of the florist, and as their facilities are far greater for raising 
early plants, it seems preferable as a general thing, to buy of them, 
for these reasons. In order to have good sizable plants for bedding 
out in May and June that will bloom in August, seed must be sown 
the first of March, at the latest, for it takes weeks for the little dry 
sticks to germinate, and then they are such slow growers, unless 
under the most favorable circumstances, they do not become strong 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 27" 

vigorous plants foy the time you want to bed them out. Few can 
care for them properly while their sunny windows are full of choice 
house plants, so that as a rule, we should deem it preferable to wait 
until May, and then purchase the large budded seedlings, which so 
quickly unfold their beautiful flowers to brighten the garden, when 
rt is almost barren of bloom. They do not cost usually more than 
sixty cents per dozen, and one is saved from so much care. 

However, for the benefit of those who prefer to sow their own 
seed, we will give directions for the best method. First, be sure that 
the seed is new. Don't sow old seed for it will not germinate. If 
you have no hot bed, make one in a box or pan by putting in a 
layer of quite fresh horse manure for bottom heat ; over this a 
layer of coarse sand ; then fill the box with finely sifted soil, mixed 
with at least one-third fine sand. Make it smooth ; then in little 
rows drop the seeds, not very sparsely, for all may not germinate, 
and if too thick when they come up they can be thinned out. 
Press the seed down with a bit of flat board, sift a little soil over 
them and then dampen by light spraying with tepid water ; a brush 
dipped in water makes a gentle sprayer. Cover with paper, glass, 
or what is better, a bit of soft flannel wrung out of water laid on 
the surface, as it keeps the soil damp without sprinkling, by being 
wet as it dries. The soil must be kept moist, not soaking wet, for 
however helpful to germination a previous soaking may be, when 
sown the seed must not be drenched, and the same rules are equally 
applicable to the seedlings, for in either case rot would surely fol- 
low. It is just here where the special care is requisite to insure 
success. After the plants have come up, the flannel or paper must 
be removed and the seedlings given sunshine and air, though it is 
well to have a glass over the top of the box for a week or more, as 
more moisture is thereby secured ; but there ought to be an aper- 
ture for the admission of air. When two or more leaves are 
developed, it is well to prick them out into other boxes or pots, if they 



28 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



are too thick for free growth ; not all, a part can remain undisturbed. 
They should be gradually hardened as a preparation for out-door 
life, by being placed in cool situations. While heat is essential to 
start the seed into growth, it is not beneficial to the plants, and 
those who have a cold frame had better remove the plants to it as 
soon as the temperature will admit. 

In bedding out, an open situation is preferable. The ground 
should be well dug and enriched, with well-decomposed manure, 
and if the soil is heavy a liberal mixture of sand. A situation 
where the morning sun will not strike them before the dew js off in 
the morning; is best, as this is one cause of the mildew or rust 
which so frequently saps the vitality of the leaves. In order to 
promote their spreading, it is a good plan to fasten down some of 
the branches when sufficiently flexible to the ground, and for this, 
nothing is more convenient than hair-pins. All the seed vessels 
should be pricked off in order to secure the best results, as much 
of the strength of the plant goes to them if allowed to remain. 
One can afford to be very liberal in gathering the flowers, for the 
more liberally they are picked off, the more rapidly buds form and 
develop. As it was with one of Bunyan's characters : 

" There was a man (though some did count him mad), 
The more he cast away, the more he had." 

The wise man says : " There is that scattereth and yet increaseth." 
A florist says that "to grow Verbenas successfully, plant them in 
beds cut in the turf. Chop the turf well and thoroughly mix with 
it a good share of well-decomposed stable manure ; never, on any 
account plant them in old and worn-out garden soil as they will 
most assuredly fail. Give them a change of soil each season, as 
they do not thrive well two years in the same bed." 

As a house plant the Verbena is not a success. It is most al- 
ways sickly, and infested with red spiders. They cannot be kept 
over winter in a cellar ; it is growth or death. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



29 



Verbenas were first introduced into Europe about fifty years ago 
from South America, and a few years later into this country. They 
have been greatly improved, and the varieties are very numerous. 
Many are fragrant. The only hardy sort is Montana, a native of 
Colorado. It is a profuse bloomer, color, a bright rose. There are 
the German Hybrids, the Italian stripes, and the Drummondii 
from Texas. Every year brings its novelties, as with other flowers. 
Mr. C. E. Allen, who makes a specialty of seedling Verbenas, is 
sending out several fine ones this season ; Silver Queen, Florence, 
Emma, Carroll, Ralph and Variegata are very attractive according 
to the descriptions. 

PETUNIAS. 

Few things in the garden will 
make more show throughout the en- 
tire season, even after quite severe 
frosts, than a bed of Petunias from 
a paper of seed marked " Choicest 
Mixed from Show Flowers." They 
will produce such a profusion of 
flowers, charming one from day to 
day with their variations of mark- 
ings, and of color. Some retain 
their distinctive characteristics, while 
with others they are changeful as 
the Kaleidoscope. Stripes, blotches, 
sprays, white throats, green edges, 
they are just lovely. Then there are the double sorts ; purple with 
white spots, white with purple ; rose color, white, purplish-crim- 
son margined with white ; lilac veined with purple ; white with 
stripes of purple in the center of each petal, some exquisitely 
fringed ; large and full as a rose, and some almost as sweet. 




30 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

In nothing, perhaps, has there been such a wonderful improve- 
ment by culture and hybridising as the Petunia. Mr. Vick tells us 
how that half a century ago, he saw for the first time, a Petunia. 
It was a novelty — a strange flower from a flowery land, South 
America, and it was carefully treated in green-houses. The flower 
was white a nd small, and looked somewhat as if made of paper — 
such a flower as would now be destroyed if by chance seen grow- 
ing accidentally in our gardens. The novelty soon subsided, 
and although it was ascertained that it could be grown in gardens, 
it did not possess sufficient merit to gain popular favor. A little 
later, however, about 1831, to the astonishment of the floral 
world, it was announced that a new Petunia, of a purple color, had 
been discovered in Buenos Ayres. It was first flowered and seeded 
in the Botanic Gardens of Glasgow, and thence seed was sent all 
over Europe and to America, where it soon became a great favor- 
ite. About thirty years ago a double Petunia was grown and prop- 
agated by cuttings. It was only semi-double and white, but it was 
the commencement of a new era in Petunia culture. Truly won- 
derful have been the advances in development of this beautiful 
flower. 

The Petunia is divided into three distinct classes, the Grandi- 
flora, Small Flowered and Double. 

The Grandiflora varieties have a strong succulent growth, the 
flowers are not so numerous as some others, but are very large and 
double, frequently measuring three inches in diameter, and some 
kinds are exquisitely marked with various shades of violet, purple 
maroon and scarlet upon white ground ; some striped, others bor- 
dered, some marbled, some deeply fringed. The double Petunia 
gives no seed, and it is only by fertilizing single flowers with the 
pollen of the double that seed can be obtained. But Petunias of 
all kinds are easily multiplied by cuttings. 

The Small Flowered class are those that make our gardens so 



TALKS ABOUT FLO WEES. 31 

attractive with their varied hues and markings. Some of the new 
hybrids are of wonderful beauty. Last year gave two of the Double 
and Fringed sort that have been frequently rioted as gems of the 
first water. 

Mrs. Edward Roby, color, a glowing crimson-maroon, edged with 
pure white, very double and deeply fringed. Model of Perfection, 
deep maroon, heavily edged with white, and deeply fringed. These 
were priced last year in a Western catalogue at $1.50 each; 
this year they are priced at 30 cents. So one gains by waiting a 
year for high-priced novelties. 

New Double Fringed Petunia for 1881, is President Garfield, 
which originated with Mr. C. E. Allen, and is thus described in his 
catalogue : " Color, light purple veined with deep purple magenta, 
edged with a broad band of an exquisite shade of green. Very 
novel in its appearance and a new color in double petunias ; flower 
very large and deeply fringed. Plants strong and vigorous ; one of 
the finest sorts ever offered." For a Petunia so unique as this, 
with its broad band of green, and now offered for the first time; 
its price, 75 cents, is low. 



" Open your eyes, my Pansies sweet, 

Open your eyes for me, 

Driving away with face so true, 

The chilling wind and wintry hue, 

That lingers so drearily. 

" Open your eyes, my Pansies sweet, 
Open your eyes for me. 
Where did you get that purple hue? 
Did a cloudlet smile as you came through ? 
Did a little sunbeam bold 
Kiss on your lips that tint of gold? 
Tell me the mystery. 

"In your eyes a story I read — 

A story of constancy. 
After the storms and winter's wind, 
Softly you come with influence kind ; 
Then as I bend with listening ear, 
Your cheerful voice I plainly hear, 

Preaching a sermon to me. 

a So, whisper to me, my Pansies sweet — 
Tell me in rustlings low, 
Of that beautiful land where fadeless flowers 
Brightly bloom in immortal bowers, 
And no blighting wind doth blow. 

" Tell of the care that is over all — 

That gives you your garments gay ; 
"Whose loving hand clothes the floweret small 
That grows in the field, or by the garden wall, 
Whose life is only a day. 

"Yes, tell of the love, my Pansies sweet, 
Of the love that knows no end ; 
That through earth's winter safely keeps 
Watch over his children, and never sleeps ; 
The love that paints the violet blue, 
And quenches your thirst with drops of dew, 
The weary heart's faithful friend." 
(32) 



3 



Pray you love, remember, 

There's Pansies — that's for thought." 

Shakespeare. 




I|| FIND my Pansies are coming up finely. My bed of Pan- 
11 sies last year from " choicest mixed seed " sown in April, 
began to bloom in June, and afforded me so much pleas- 
ure with their varied beauty, that I resolved this year to 
have a great many of them.. I see, now that the snow has melted 
from the bed, that the plants have wintered well. I had all of the 
colors shown in the chromo plate of my catalogue, excepting Em- 
peror William, dark blue. I think that somebody else must have 
got him, for my packet of seed was divided and sub-divided. King 
of the Blacks was rightly named, a mere dot of yellow in the cen- 
ter, and Pure White was in striking contrast, while Pure Yellow 
was golden, and Odier was splendid with its dark center banded 
with yellow and scarlet. Then there was copper-colored and 
striped, and such rich purples with a dot of yellow. How lovely 
they were ! They were not very large at first, but in August after 
a rain, I had superb specimens. They were bedded beneath a fruit 
tree, where they were sheltered from the noonday glare. They 
thrive best in a moist, partially shaded situation. The blossoms; 
ought to be picked as they fade, for if left to seed the strength is, 
taken from the plants and the blossoms are smaller. 

This season I have sown musical Pansies. " Musical Pansies ! 
what are they ? What sort of music do they make ? Will it be of 
the Brass Band order, or that of the hand-organ style ?" 

No, no ! Not that coarse, harsh, loud sort at all. If you could' 
hear their low, sweet notes, you would be enraptured. But this, 

(33) 



34 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



cannot be. I call them musical, because named for the great com- 
posers, Mozart, Handel, Schiller, Goethe, Beethoven, Haydn, Men- 
delssohn, and Schumann. They are the " New German Pansies," 
of which types are given in oil colors, in the catalogue of B. F. Bliss 
& Sons, and represent the most beautiful strains I have ever seen. 
They are no fancy sketch, but drawn as true to life in color and 
size as it was possible to make them, if we will accept the testi- 
mony of Dr. Thurber in the American Agriculturist. He says, 
that "no doubt many who have seen the colored plate published by 
Messrs. B. F. Bliss & Sons, have supposed that the artist had exer- 
cised his imagination both as to size and the strange combinations 
of colors. So far from this being the case, the flowers are, if any- 
thing, rather below the real size, and as to colors, it would be impos- 
sible to conceive of any artificial colors more brilliant, or more 
strongly contrasted, than they are in flowers, produced by this 
remarkable strain of seeds." 

In my childhood I knew nothing of the Pansy. The little Hearts- 
ease or Ladies' Delight, as it was then called, was alone cultivated. 
Mr. Vick tells us how it grew to be the fine flower now so highly 
prized. About sixty years ago, a very young English lady living 
on the banks of the Thames, had a little flower garden of her own, 
and one bed she filled with Pansies, selecting from her father's 
grounds the finest she could obtain. The gardener, seeing her in- 
terest and success, became ambitious to try 'his hand, and grew 
plants from the finest specimens. These attracted the attention of 
professional florists, and speedily the Pansy became a popular 
flower. Every country gives it a pet name — Heartsease, Fringed 
Violet, Trinity Flower, Butterfly flower, and Johnny-jump-up, while 
the French call it Pensee, from which our name of Pansy is proba- 
bly derived. It means to remember or keep in mind. A floral 
work published in 1732, illustrates it with a colored plate, which 
shows it to have been then small like the Ladies' Delight. 



TALKS ABO UT FL O WERS. 35 

MODE OF CULTURE. 

For summer blooming plants sow seed in the house, in March or 
April. Cigar boxes are very suitable for seed sowing. Put in a 
layer of coarse sand for drainage, then one of horse manure for 
bottom heat. Fill with rich, mellow earth sifted and mixed with 
one-third silver sand, or finely pulverized leaf mold. Have it moist 
but not drenched. With a narrow strip of board, make tiny fur- 
rows about one and a half inches apart, and in these carefully drop 
the seed one by one an inch distant. Cover slightly, and press 
the soil firmly, then lay a piece of old soft flannel folded once or 
twice, and wrung lightly out of warm water, carefully over the soil, 
which will keep it damp. Cover with glass, and keep in a warm 
place. In a few days see if the covering is dry, if so damp it again, 
and watch for the seedlings. When they appear, remove the flan- 
nel, but still keep on the glass, not, however, so close as to exclude 
all air. Gradually inure them to the sunlight, and as soon as they 
have made four or five leaves, it is best to transplant every other 
one, so that they may have room to grow. Great care is needful 
with tender seedlings to keep them from damping off. If too wet, 
they will do this, or if kept too shady. Good judgment is essen- 
tial for success. As the weather becomes warm, expose them at 
first an hour or two, to the outdoor air, and thus prepare them for 
early bedding out. Being hardy plants, living out of doors during 
the winter, with slight protection at the North, they will bear 
transplanting sooner than many other seedlings. A rich moist 
soil, and somewhat cool and shaded situation, are best adapted for 
their growth. For winter flowers, sow seed the last of August, or 
first of September, in a frame or boxes kept in a shady place. 

ASTERS. 

These must be included among the essential annuals for the 
garden. They are one of the chief attractions of the border in the 



36 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

autumn, when many flowers have passed their prime. This plant, 
like the Petunia, has in skillful hands and by hybridization, devel- 
oped from a very inferior flower to one of great beauty and numer- 
ous classes, which embrace a great many varieties. They are rep- 
resented by Dwarfs and by Giants, ranging intermediately from 
five or six inches in height to two feet. Dwatf Bouquet presents 
a mass of flowers with scarcely a leaf, while Tall Chrysanthemum 
grows to the height of two feet, and the New Victoria, Giant Em- 
peror, Truffants Perfection and the New Washington bear immense 
flowers of great beauty. The last named bears the largest flowers 
of any variety ; sometimes they measure more than five inches 
across. The New Rose is of a strong habit, and the petals of its 
large blossoms are finely imbricated. Truffants Fiery Scarlet and 
Dwarf Fiery Scarlet, are a novelty in color among Asters. Goliath 
is of a bushy form, and its flowers are very large. Fine colors. 
Victoria is a dwarf ; snow-white, very double. The Crown Asters 
have white centers surrounded with various bright colors, and are 
very pretty. The Quilled Asters are quite distinct in character, 
the petals consisting of tubes or quills with outer blossom petals 
slightly reflexed. Newest Shakespeare and Diamond and Meteor 
are novelties of recent introduction, and come in numerous colors. 
We grew them last year and deem them admirable. 

The native country of this plant is China, hence it has been 
called frequently China Aster. It had originally only a few rows 
of petals and a large disk. It was first discovered about a century 
and a half ago, by a missionary, and sent to Europe. It was first 
cultivated in France, and the French florists have done the most 
toward perfecting the flat-petaled Aster, and this style of flower is 
known as the French Aster. On the other hand the Germans 
have sought to produce fine flowers with tubular petals, and the 
quilled are therefore called German Asters. Within a few years, 
however, the Germans have rivaled the French in originating supe- 
rior varieties of the flat-petaled style. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



37 



When first cultivated in France it was called Reine Marguerite, 
meaning Queen Daisy ; afterward in England it was called China 
Aster, which means China Star. 

Asters require a rich/ deep soil. Twelve inches apart is a very 
good distance for the large varieties, the dwarf can be set about six 
inches, or even less will do. The tall kinds need to be staked, or 
they are liable to be blown down, or prostrated by heavy rains. Do 
not tie one string around the entire plant, but use several, and con- 
fine a few branches with each, so that, while having sufficient sup- 
port, they may retain their natural position. 



BALSAMS. 

Have been sowing my Balsams to- 
day in a box, so as to have nice seed- 
lings to bed out in six weeks from 
now. My Balsams last year were su- 
perior to any I had seen, but Mr. J. L. 
Childs, who rather prides himself on 
his plants, has sent me several pack- 
ages for trial. He says : '.' My stock 
of Balsams is undoubtedly the finest 
in the world; all who saw them flow- 
ering the past season were astonished 
at their size and magnificence. The 
new variety (Child's Camellia Flower- 
ed Perfection), is indeed a great acquisition ; its flowers are of gi- 
gantic size, and so double and perfect that they resemble small 
Camellias ; it is also a very free bloomer. I have counted five and 
six hundred perfect flowers upon a plant at the same time." That 
is a wonderful yield, truly ; I cannot expect so many, but half that 
number would satisfy me. The Camellia Flowered Perfection 
comes in nine colors ; pink, scarlet, striped white and purple, mot- 




38 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

tied, white and delicate pink, magenta spotted with white, crim- 
son spotted with white, purple spotted with white, pure white, and 
rose-flowered perfection, lavender color, buds when half open, re- 
semble a rosebud. 

I shall sow some of the seeds in June, for autumn blooming, and 
shall try more fully than last year the pruning method. This is 
done by removing all of the branches, and then the main stock will 
grow two or three feet in height, and be a perfect wreath of blos- 
soms. Another method is to remove the leader and let two or 
three branches remain. The flowers are larger, and the plant 
handsomer than when allowed to grow at its own sweet will. 
They do best in a light, rich soil, and a liberal supply of liquid 
manure will greatly advance their growth. A writer in the Gar- 
dener s Chronicle says : " Considering the very effective display that 
these plants make when associated with stately foliage plants in 
sub-tropical beds, I think they are worthy of more extended culti- 
vation. There are few plants better adapted for the above pur- 
pose than the Balsam, being easily raised from seed, and as is well 
known, they are rapid growers if they are planted in a rich soil. 
Several samples of these plants with us are now three feet through 
and over two feet high, and they work admirably with such things 
as Castor Oils, Cannas, and the beautifully striped Japonica. The 
plants referred to were planted out early in June, and I am so 
pleased with their behaviour in the sub-tropical garden, that I in- 
tend to grow them largely another year." 

I know of no reason why the Balsam might not with good culti- 
vation thrive as well here as in England. Let us try our " level 
best," and see what we can do. 




Y interest in this class of plants was specially awakened 
four years ago by the successful cultivation of a dozen 
or more new varieties which I was induced to send for by 
the reception of the catalogue of the " Innisfallen Green 
houses," containing a more attractive list of geraniums, and at 
lower prices than I had ever seen. I secured a Club by a little 
effort, and thus obtained so many fine extras, that it was a very 
agreeable surprise. I have since learned that very many others 
have had a similar surprise. 

The next spring I had a much larger assortment, and last year 
the greatest variety I ever saw. I am sure that I had sixty kinds 
in bloom at once. Although very small plants, as they always are 
when many are ordered by mail, they throve wonderfully, and with 
one exception, were all in flower in a few weeks, and kept on 
blooming till after removal in the autumn. 

My method of treatment is the following : On opening the boxes 
I find them packed in damp moss, many closely tied together. I 
take off the oiled paper, loosen the moss packed around them, and 
put them in a shallow pan, in which is sufficient tepid water to 
cover the roots. After an hour or two I set them in three and four 
inch pots, first putting a bit of crock over the hole in the bottom 
of the pot, so as to keep the roots from going astray, then some of 
the coarse siftings of soil, or small bits of coal for drainage. As 
geraniums are not at all fastidious about soil, I take whatever is 
available, mix a small quantity of sand with it to make it friable, 
enriching with old manure. I nearly fill the pot, and then make a 
hole in the center, set in the plant, press the earth firmly around it, 
fill to the top and press down again, water, and set the pot in a 

(39) 






«- Mil 



f%;'»1: , 








BISHOP WOOD GERANIUM. 



(») 



TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 41 

cool and shady place for several days, then bring to the light for a 
few hours, gradually accustoming them to the sunshine, until they 
become fully established in their new quarters. When the weather 
is sufficiently warm, I plunge the pots in the border for the sum- 
mer, coveriug the pots entirely. I choose a cloudy clay if possible ; 
if otherwise, I do the work late in the afternoon, so that the intense 
sunshine may not at the first beat upon them. I prefer massing 
these new plants by themselves, as the effect is more pleasing than 
when intermixed with other kinds. The geranium bed is the most 
attractive one of my garden. It is always full of bloom, and the 
varied hues commingled are very attractive. I remove all decayed 
leaves, and the trusses as soon as the flowers have faded. Fre- 
quently there will be a few decayed pips marring the beauty of a 
fine truss, and these I carefully remove. All of my large stock 
geraniums which have been wintered two years, I set by them- 
selves, and they furnish an abundance of flowers for bouquets, and 
cuttings for new plants. Where one has a plenty of garden room, 
they need not mind having several choice geraniums of a kind. 
Slips will root well during the summer months, if set in the earth 
near the parent stock, where they are shaded from the direct rays 
of the sun. Care must be had to set the cuttings well down in the 
soil, and firm the earth compactly around them. In this way one 
can obtain with little care nice plants for the winter window gar- 
den, which will be more shapely than those which have become 
very branchy. Geraniums are ill growing plants unless pruned and 
trained with skill. But they are so easily cultured, adapting them- 
selves to most any situation whether of shade or sunshine, are so 
hardy, and bloom so freely, that we can but admire them though 
they yield no fragrant flowers. There are many varieties of scent- 
ed leaved geraniums, and these mixed with the odorless blossoms 
are almost an equivalent. Then the beautiful " Golden Bronzed 
Zoned" geraniums, and the " Silver Margined " and "Tricolored," 



42 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

are so beautiful in foliage, while Happy Thought, with its creamy 
yellow leaf margined with green ; Distinction, with deep green 
leaves zoned with black ; Mrs. Pollock with bronze red zone belted 
with bright crimson margined with golden yellow, are exceedingly 
ornamental. Beside these there are many perhaps equally at- 
tractive, not often named in the general collection. Freak of 
Nature, first sent out last year, is an improvement on Happy 
Thought the center of pure white narrowly margined with light 
green ; flowers light scarlet ; habit very dwarf and spreading. It 
originated with Mr. Gray of England, and was awarded three first 
class certificates. 

Of the numerous classes into which geraniums are divided, few 
only are given usually by florists. There are the Ornamental Fo- 
liage of which we have cited a few examples, and the Golden Tri- 
colors, Silver Tricolors, Golden Bronze, Nosegay and Lilliputian 
Zonale ; Double and single Geraniums. 

We will specify a few varieties worthy of special note, as we can 
testify by personal observation. Bishop Wood, Madam Baltet, C. 
H. Wagner, Madam Thibaut, Victor Hugo, Jean Dolfus, Cassimer 
Perier, John Fennely, Naomi and Rose d'Amour, all double sorts. 
Of the single, Dr. John Denny possesses a rare beauty, and is thus 
described by an English writer: "Dr. John Denny, raised by J. 
Sisley, has quite set at rest the probability of a blue or a purple, 
which is a positive fact, and great honor is due to its dsitinguished 
raiser. It also possesses another novel and distinct feature. The 
base of the two top petals is of a bright crimson tinted with orange, 
which gives it a most striking appearance ; this, together with its 
immense sized trusses, free growth and shape of blooms, renders it 
one of the best for pot or house decoration, and is of great acquisi- 
tion." Jean Dolfus belongs to this purple magenta class, a double 
geranium, very beautiful. Also Zuleika, which has larger pips and 
trusses. It is a little more striking in color than John Denny, 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 43 

but both are just as lovely as a geranium can possibly be. When 
Jealousy was sent out, there was much ado over it because it was 
the nearest approach toward a yellow Zonal, but it was eclipsed 
pretty soon by Guinea, which was an advance by a shade or two. 
We had the two in proximity last summer, and though but little 
difference, it was sufficiently marked to enable us to decide that 
Guinea for color, size and form, was preferable. We just get set- 
tled down on that, when we are startled by the announcement of 
another novelty, " New Guinea " by name, " a great improvement 
on Guinea, being two shades brighter." Well, well ! we must have 
that, too, and see if in other respects as well as color, it is worthy 
to eclipse our favorite. 

Henry Cannell — this is a new geranium, originating with Mr. 
John Thorp of Queens, New York, who makes a specialty of seed- 
ling geraniums, and has sent out from his grounds many of great 
value, one of them Happy Thought, so widely known. We have 
not tested H. Cannell, ours was sent from Innisfallen during the 
winter, and has not yet bloomed, but we are sure that it would 
never have received the name of the most distinguished florist in 
England, if it were not a superior variety. 

New Life originated with Mr. H. Cannell of Swanley England, 
in our Centennial year, and he sent out the first thousand by sub- 
scription only, at £i each — not one sold till the thousand were en- 
gaged ! When introduced the following year to this country, stock 
plants were sold for $5,00 each. Now you can purchase it at prices 
ranging from ten cents to thirty. It is unique in color, being 
splashed, striped, and flecked with salmon and white on an intense 
scarlet ground. It is sometimes freakish, having pips with some 
petals salmon, others partly white and partly scarlet, others pure 
scarlet. But this very freak is charming, for with beautifully striped 
trusses there will be others thus sportive. Its habit is dwarf, com- 
pact, and its dark leaves zoned with black are very handsome. It 



44 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



cannot be surpassed as a free bloomer. Mr. Cannell, when send- 
ing it out, expressed the wish that the day might come when there 
would not be a cottage in the land where New Life was not found. 
John Fennely, salmon striped with white, and Fairy, flaked and 
striped with crimson on a bluish white ground, are very pretty. 
Dazzle, Harry King, Richard Dean, and Jean Sisley are scarlet 
with white eye. Of several single white geraniums in my garden, 
I gave decided preference to Madame Quinet. 

There is a great difference in the duration of the flowers. Vic- 
tor Hugo, a splendid geranium, retains its beautiful trusses full 
five weeks. Bishop Wood is also admirable in this respect, and 
Jenny Dolfus and Naomi we believe cannot be surpassed. 

Of the Sweet Scented Gera- 
niums, we have none equal to the 
hybrid, Mrs. Taylor, for beauty of 
foliage and of flower. It is a fine 
grower, and for green to mix with 
flowers it is admirable. Dr. Liv- 
ingstone, a more recent novelty, is 
very handsome and fragrant. Rose 
and Lemon scented are delicious. 
Lady Plymouth is a variegated 
rose ; leaves bronzy green, fringed 
with creamy white, sometimes as- 
suming a pink tinge ; very orna- 
mental. London "Blue is a very rare variety of scented geranium, 
of heavy creeping growth, with large crimped or curled leaves cov- 
ered thickly with fine spines or hairs. Seldom blooms. 

We have specified a goodly number, yet but a few from the 
many, and we can assure you that if you have a large bed of gera- 
niums you will greatly admire them, and feel satisfied that you have 
the most effective bedding plants, requiring the least care, and for 




TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 45 

the smallest outlay, that you could possibly obtain. In California 
they grow without culture to an enormous size. From an editor's 
notes we cite the following : 

" A little slip of geranium planted out in the spring, had grown 
in the summer to 150 branches, its stalk at its base four inches 
thick, and bearing over a thousand blooms ! I saw a fence fifteen 
feet high, sixty-five feet long, covered with geranium vines that had 
clambered up one side, and then dropped down the other, filling 
both sides with a blanket of scarlet blossoms. It grows like weeds, 
and needs no care." 

Geraniums are so hardy that one can leave them to the last in 
removing from the border in autumn. Frosts that kill Dahlia tops, 
and many other plants, do not harm geraniums. Some of mine, 
for lack of time to remove, are exposed till late without harm. The 
roots have great vitality, and when the stalk has frozen and rotted 
to the ground, a new growth will start forth, sometimes in a few 
weeks, and sometimes not for three months. I have had this 
proved by plants in my window boxes. So one need not be in a 
hurry to pull up the frozen geraniums. My large stocky plants I 
pack in dry goods boxes, filling in earth around the roots, and put 
them in the cellar where they have little light. The pot plants, 
also, are mostly put away so as to give all the available room to the 
cuttings rooted in the summer, and the rare and tender plants that 
will not live in a cellar. These cuttings make fine plants for bed- 
ding out in May or June. 

In the spring the large geranium-s are brought up to the open 
air and trimmed of their dead leaves, pruned of dead branches, and 
put in a large bed with the Hybrid Perpetual Roses. 



(23^ 



eP 



\^§onm§i 





Y first Begonia was a Rex. 
It thrived for several 
years ; and then to my 
regret died, for it was 
quite a favorite with me. Its large 
leaves with broad silvery belt and 
red dots, were very handsome. 
This species thrive best in a Wardian case and are of rare beauty 
and size, grown under such circumstances. A cool, moist atmos- 
phere is the best for them ; they burn and shrivel exposed to the 
intense sunlight. They are easily multiplied from the leaves. Cut 
the leaf so that a small portion of the stem will remain, insert this 
in a pan of damp sand, laying the leaf out flat upon the sand, up- 
per side uppermost. It can be retained in place by bits of stone or 
small pegs. Cuts must then be made in a number of places so as 
to sever the veins, thus checking the flow of sap. A callus then 
forms at the base of each piece of vein where severed, and just 
above it, a bud starts out, and thus a new plant is formed. It is 
essential for success, that there should be bottom heat, and that 
the air should be moist. A bell glass is the best to put over the 
leaf, and if there is danger that the air become too moist, the glass 
can be tilted up to allow of an escape. The leaves best adapted 
for propagation are those neither very young nor very old, but 
healthy and vigorous ; yet that this is not absolutely essential is 
shown by the experience of a lady who had excellent success with 
a leaf that was some what decayed around the edges, and for that 
reason was cut off and thrown away. Remembering afterward 
that the plant was sometimes grown from pieces of a leaf, she hunt- 

(46) 



TALKS ABO ITT FL O WERS. 47 

ed it up, trimmed off the decayed portion, and planted it at the 
foot of a tree, about half under ground, and pressed the soil firmly 
around it. A few months afterward she had a nice little plant 
from it, with its beautiful leaves unfolding finely. 

There are many varieties of the Rex family; some have brilliant 
colors in their leaves, others are thickly covered with short hairs. 
These are more difficult to manage, and require great care to pre- 
serve from dust, as like all rough leaved plants, they do not enjoy 
spraying, as do smooth leaved ones. It is well to set them out in 
a mild shower occasionally. Tepid water is the best for watering. 

BEGONIAS, NOT REX. 

This class are the most generally cultivated, and they embrace a 
great many varieties, which are specially distinguishable by the 
diversity of their leaves. Most of them are one-sided, that is, they 
are larger on one side of the mid-rib than on the other. Some 
have fern-like foliage, others lobated. Some have large palmate 
leaves, others are spotted and laced with white. As a class they 
are very beautiful for their foliage, but when to this attraction is 
added beauty of flowers, it will be seen at once that they are emi- 
nently deserving of the prominent position now given them both in 
the open border and the window garden. 

We will name for the benefit of amateurs some of the most de- 
sirable as given by Mr. Vick : Fuchsioides, with its drooping scar- 
let flowers, is one of the most desirable of the whole class ; the 
leaves are small, and of a dark green color, and the small, delicate 
brilliant flowers are produced in great profusion. As a winter 
blooming sort it is indispensable. F. Alba bears white flowers. 
Richardsonii, a variety with white flowers and deeply cleft palmate 
leaves, requires more heat than the former, therefore well adapted 
to our warm rooms. Subpeltata nigricans has large, dark purple 



48 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



leaves, and bears clusters of large rosy flowers, very ornamental. 
Grandiflora rosea, with light pink flowers, and Sa?iderso7iii, scarlet 
flowers ; Weltoniensis, of dwarf habit and small dark green foliage, 
rich pink flowers, are all fine winter bloomers. Argyrostigma picta 
has long, thick leaves, with white spots. Metallica, an elegant 
plant with bronzy green foliage, and producing an abundance of 
pale peach-colored flowers, is of very recent introduction. Louis 
Schweitzer has a beautiful marked foliage in the style of Rex, dwarf 
habit. Mons. Victor Lamoine, leaves marbled like lace. Glau- 
cophylla Scandens is of quite recent introduction, and the very best 
of all for a hanging basket. It is of a drooping habit, and its 
bright glossy leaves are very handsome. It bears large panicles 
of orange salmon flowers. 

TUBEROUS ROOTED BEGONIA. 

This is a class of quite recent origin, and differs from the more 
general varieties, in that it has bulbous roots which can be 
taken up and stored during the winter like Gladioli and Gloxinia 
bulbs. It has larger flowers than the other species ; red, orange, 
yellow, with intermediate tints. A writer in the London Garden 
says of them : 

" The bulbous Begonias, mostly of the Boliviniensis and Veitchi 
sections or families, may have also a brilliant future in the flower 
garden. Meanwhile, their proper place seems to be in the conserv- 
atory, greenhouse and window garden. For such positions it is 
well-nigh impossible to match the bulbous-rooted Begonias for bril- 
liancy, grandeur and grace, three qualities seldom combined in the 
same plant. The plants are also characterized by great distinct- 
ness and freshness of style and character." 

They are both double and single. Of the single flowered, the 
most important sent out last year was Davisii. It is a native of 
the Andes of Peru. Dwarf in habit, the leaves and flowers all 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS, 49 

springing from the root stalk. "The scapes which rise erect above 
an elegant bluish green foliage, are light red ; each scape bears 
three dazzling scarlet flowers. The plant is of very free growth, 
and a profuse bloomer." Frobelii, a new species from Ecuador, 
said to be very attractive, producing, well above the foliage, erect 
branches of large brilliant scarlet flowers ; the foliage is of bright 
green, furnished on the under side with a thick covering of white 
hairs. White Queen, a very elegant variety with numerous racemes 
of ivory white blossoms. 

Of the new double flowered, Glorie de Nancy is represented as a 
magnificent variety, with large very double carmine flowers, and 
very floriferous. Louis Van Houtte, flowers large, of a crimson 
scarlet color ; of fine habit, and a free bloomer. 

" Comtesse Horace Choeteau y is an inch or more in diameter, very 
double, and of a delicate, soft shade of rose ; the young plant in a 
three-inch pot presented a number of flowers and buds, indicating 
a good blooming habit. As a double flower it is remarkably fine, 
the petals being well formed, pretty smoothly laid and imbrica- 
ted." — James Vick. 

The soil best adapted for Begonias is turfy loam, leaf-mold, sand, 
and old well-rotted manure in equal parts. When growing, they 
require a liberal supply of water, applied directly to the soil. 

The Begonias are natives of the tropical countries of Asia,. 
Africa, and America, and most of them inhabit the mountainous 
regions at a considerable elevation. They were first brought to 
notice and introduced into cultivation about two hundred years ago 
by a French naval officer, Michel Begon, from whom they derived 
their name. 

GLOXINIA. 

This bulbous plant is a native of the tropical region of South 
America, and deserves a more general culture, for all the varieties 
4 



50 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

of this genus are very handsome, magnificent is not too strong a 
term to apply to many of them. They may be raised from seed by 
sowing early in spring in a finely sifted soil of leaf mold and garden 
loam. But great care is needful, and then one has to wait the fol- 
lowing year for the flowers. It is better to obtain the bulbs in the 
spring all started, then they will bloom during the summer. Mine 
had several leaves, and I removed them from the thumb pots to 
five-inch size, which I judged would be sufficiently large for them. 
They need plenty of light and heat and plenty of air. To prolong 
the flowering an occasional watering with manure water should be 
given. In the autumn they must be gradually dried off and the 
bulbs kept in a warm, dry place, secure from frost. They can be 
potted any time from February to May. The bulb must be plant- 
ed so that its top will be level with the surface of the soil, and wa- 
tered sparingly until the leaves appear. 

I will describe a few " superlatively beautiful." Cinderella, pure 
white with pink band. Brilliant, bright crimson, margined with 
rose, rich violet throat. Rose d 'Amour, rose carmine, cream col- 
ored throat, zone of cerise. Nero, dark purple, white throat. 
Princess Royal, tube and edges white, throat mottled with dark 
blue. Lamartine, very beautifully undulated, magnificent shape ; 
white bordered rose limb, veering to cochineal, marbled with white 
and elegantly veined with rose. Boule de Neige, pure snowy 
white, an abundant bloomer. These are only a few selections from 
the many, but sufficient to give you an idea of the variety of colors. 

TUBEROSE. 

What flower can be whiter, sweeter, and more lovely than the 
Tuberose ? As the flowering bulbs can be bought for ten and fif- 
teen cents, according to size, no one need be without this charming 
flower. It is a native of the East Indies, and was introduced into 
Europe more than two hundred years ago. Until recently Italy 



TALKS ABOUT FL WERS. 51 

grew the tubers for Europe and America, but it has now been dis- 
covered that American grown tuberoses are superior in quality to 
the imported, and many florists of Europe now advertise them. 

Here is a description of the tuberose, which appeared originally 
in a volume entitled " The Flower Garden Displayed" published in 
England in 1732 : 

" This is a bulbous root, brought to us from Italy every year. It 
brings a spike of white flowers on the top of a stalk about three 
feet high, and is very sweet scented. The flower buds are a little 
tinted with a lake or carmine color. We raise this by planting the 
roots in pots of fine earth, and plunging them in hot beds in Feb- 
ruary or March ; but give them no water till they sprout, then we 
have this flower in July. Or else set the roots in a warm border 
under a south wall, and they will some of them flower in August 
and some in September, or this month or the next. When these 
blossom you may pot them and set them into the green-house, and 
some will even bloom in December." 

Mr. Vick, from whose magazine we quote the foregoing, gives an 
engraving copied from the work, showing the character of the tube- 
rose as it was nearly a century and a half ago. It represents a 
small single flower, that would be lightly esteemed by us. 

The flower stalk is from three to five feet in height, and bears 
from twenty-five to eighty blossoms. The Pearl is much the finest 
sort. When the bulbs are obtained from the florist they have usu- 
ally several little tubers round the large one. These ought to be 
taken off and placed in rich, mellow soil to the depth of four or five 
inches. They must be cared for by keeping the earth loose and 
watering occasionally. Before frost they should be lifted, their tops 
cut away, and then kept in a dry, warm place during the winter. 
The strongest ones will usually blossom in the autumn. But sum- 
mer flowering bulbs are so cheap it seems scarcely worth the 
trouble. 



52 TALKS AB OUT FLO WERS. 

Will Tuberoses flower the second year, is a question frequently 
asked, and usually answered in the negative, even by popular flo- 
rists. A writer in an English periodical, Gardeners' Chronicle, 
gives the following facts : 

" Last year, instead of throwing away all our plants when they 
had done flowering, as is, I believe, customary, I saved back twelve 
plants, not picked ones, which were placed under a stage in a late 
vinery, where they remained until the end of April without receiv- 
ing any water to the roots, other than what they derived from the 
moisture of the house, by which time most of them had thrown up 
their flower-spikes, which proceeded from young tubers, formed 
immediately upon the top or crown of the old ones, and from the 
union of which — when the plants had received a thorough watering, 
and otherwise were subject to a growing temperature — a profu- 
sion of roots emanated, after which the plants received a suitable 
shift to a small 24. The spikes of these plants, although not so 
strong or fine as those produced by tubers imported last autumn, 
are nevertheless good, both in spike and each individual flower, 
which, moreover, expanded in the most satisfactory manner possi- 
ble, so much so, that this and other seasons I intend to save all my 
tuberoses for flowering the second year, and perhaps the third. I 
may here remark for the information of the uninitiated in tuberose 
culture, that in potting the tubers all little bulbets or offsets should 
be rubbed off, and subsequently any suckers which may appear 
should be removed forthwith, otherwise failure to flower these most 
beautifully scented flowers will, in all probability be the result. 
The plant is of comparatively easy and simple culture, and consid- 
ering the value of the tuberose while in flower, and its great suita- 
bility for bouquet-making, etc., the wonder is that it is not more 
extensively cultivated in private establishments as well as by mar- 
ket gardeners." 

A gentleman writes me of a new method with Tuberoses ; new to 



TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 53 

him, and he says that in a large range of horticultural reading he 
has never seen it mentioned nor heard of its being used except in . 
the instance he cites. He says : " I have grown Tuberoses for the 
past ten years with varying success, but the main difficulty has 
been that so long a time has been required in rooting and stocking 
them that the first frost finds a large proportion of them just bud- 
ding, or not commenced to spindle. Had tried various places, hot- 
bed, furnace-room and hot-house, and all the early spring months 
and December, but that made no difference ; they would not start 
until they got ready, and I lost many bulbs from rotting. Two 
years ago, a friend who had had a similar experience surprised me 
by showing me plants about the first of May with fine tops that 
had been planted but three weeks, and the first of June had stalks 
a foot high, while my bulbs which had been planted the first of 
February, did not commence to sprout until June, although they 
had been in a hot-house under favorable conditions. 

" Now the reason simply was this : He had taken his bulbs and 
not only pulled off all the small ones attached, but had dug out 
with a sharp knife all the small eyes, and had cut off the whole of 
the tuberous part, leaving only the bulb proper. This I tried on 
one-half my bulbs, with the result that they were nearly two months 
earlier than those planted the same time, that I did not cut. Al- 
though this seems to be rather severe treatment of the bulb, it has 
given such good results that I propose to continue the practice." 

My own experience is that of late blooming. Of the dozen I 
planted in the border in June, five were finely budded when taken 
up in September, and have since bloomed. Two others had just 
begun to spindle, the others with one exception look as though 
they would not stalk. Next year I purpose to try this new method. 




$ §Wf $>bm% f£ladiclM§. 

" Posthumous glories, angel-like collection, 

Upraised from seed or bulb interred in earth, 
Ye are to me a type of resurrection 

And second birth. " 

fjfUjfjT was my intention to devote this entire article 

to " Ornamental Foliage Plants, " but I think 

I will have a prelude, and my prelude may 

have no more connection with my "talk" 

proper than Mr. Cook's preludes do with his lecture 

proper, and I think that frequently the first is the 

most interesting and important J and from the fact 

that in the published reports much more space is 

afforded to the prelude than the lecture, I opine that 

fm|||jf // . others are of the same opinion. " The Topic of the 
Hour, " whatever may be the question just then stir- 
ring the public mind, is usually chosen as the preface. 
The topic of the hour to-day has been a bit of a ser- 
mon from the text, " And to every seed its own body," 
and the lesson embodied was that of Faith. The preaching came 
from a package of gladiolus bulbs, just received, and it run on this 
wise : 

Here are these dry bulbs, separately wrapped and labeled. 
They look alike in color, and very nearly alike in form ; some are 
rather more cone shaped than others. One is larger and more flat. 
But there is nothing in form nor size to show that they will not 
develop precisely the same form and color of flower. I know that 
they will all reveal the leaf, habit of growth, bud and bloom that 
distinguishes this species of plant from all others, because I know 

(54) 




TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 55 

that these are gladiolus bulbs, and every seed hath its own body. 
A gladiolus bulb never yet produced a dahlia. A tigridia or shell- 
flower bulb, though greatly resembling some gladiolus bulbs, and 
its form of leaf is very similar, yet it never produces a bud nor 
blossom like the gladiolus. The tigridia hath "its own body," 
peculiarly and exclusively its own. I have spoken thus far of dem- 
onstrated facts — facts that have become to me a matter of personal 
knowledge. 

But now comes the lesson of Faith. I find each bulb bears a 
different name. I take my catalogue and read the description 
against the name on each label. Thus I am told what colors per- 
tain to each bulb, inclosed, shut up beyond my ken. Do I have 
any doubts respecting these descriptions — that the distinguishing 
characteristics of each sort before me will fail to correspond ? Here 
is Lord Byron and Lord Raglan. How do I know that the former 
will be a brilliant scarlet, stained and ribboned with pure white, 
while the latter will have salmon colored blossoms, spotted with 
scarlet and blotched with dark garnet ? I do not know this, for I 
have never seen it demonstrated, but I have an assured faith that 
in due time I shall behold those flowers true to their assigned 
colors, and if there should be a failure I should attribute it to the 
mistake of the labeler. 

But why should these brown bulbs, so alike to outward view, 
bear flowers so widely differing in hues ? Why should Cleopatra 
have a large flower of soft lilac tinged with violet, and a purple 
feathered blotch, while Meteor is dark red with pure white stain ? 
Why should Nestor be yellow striped with red, and Addison dark 
amaranth, with white stripes ? Vainly would I seek by dissection 
to fathom the mystery of these hidden diversified markings, but He 
who created this plant of wondrous beauty gave to each "seed its 
own body, " and thus we can plant in faith — yea in full assurance 
of faith — that in due time our eyes will behold all those varied tints 



56 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS, 



now secreted in these bulbs before us. Our seed sowing is all the 
work of Faith, and Hope looks beyond with bright anticipations of 
the summer and autumn harvest. 

The gladiolus is very easily cultured, and I have far better suc- 
cess in keeping the bulbs through the winter than I have with the 
dahlia. The tubers of the dahlia easily rot, on account of the 
dampness of the cellar, though carefully dried and packed in sand. 
But the gladiolus bulbs, without any special care, come out in fine 
condition. I like to add a few new ones to my old standard stock, 
so as to have a variety of colors, for few flowers make such a grand 
display in the flower garden, and the spikes of bloom are admirable 
for bouquets, as the buds will unfold day after day for a long time. 
The lower flowers on the stalk can be removed as they fade. The 
flowers are very fine also for saucer or shoal dish bouquets. I have 
a special liking for these. Fill the shallow dish with water or sand 
— I prefer the latter kept constantly wet — then arrange tastefully 
short stemmed flowers till they are a mass of bloom. I first make 
a green border of geranium leaves, or some trailing vine. Different 
shades of gladiolus flowers picked from the stalk are very effective 
to set off the flowers not so striking. Where the season for out- 
door culture is short, as it is here in Maine, it is best to get the 
bulbs started in the house. Some do this by simply placing them 
in a sunny window without covering. I always plant mine in a 
box. 

The gladiolus can be raised from seed, but they are of slow 
growth, and one has to wait till the third summer usually for their 
flowering. It is far better to purchase the bulbs, then they bloom 
the first season, and, except some of the rare sorts, multiply rapidly. 
Although novelties, and some rare sorts are very expensive, $1.50, 
$2 and $3 for a single bulb, yet very fine bulbs of choice colors can 
be obtained for that price per dozen. In reply to the question, 
" What are the names of six of your finest gladiolus not very expen- 



TALKS ABOUT FL O WERS. 57 

sive ? " the reply is, " Calypso, Cleopatra, Agatha, Eldorado, James 
Carter and Lord Byron." These six cost but little more than $i. 
Of those more expensive the following are very desirable : Addison, 
Eugene Scribe, Etenard, La France, Meyerbeer and Rossini. These 
cost a little less than $3. Unnamed bulbs, a good variety, can be 
bought for $1 per dozen of reliable florists. 

Of the new varieties sent out the present season for the first 
time, are the following raised during the past year by M. Souchet, 
M. Leomine and other French growers, who have for years made 
the improvement of the gladiolus a special study. They are said 
to be superior to any gladiolus hitherto introduced. Aurore, Brem- 
ontier, Chameleon, Corinne, Dalila, Eclair, Gulliver, Hermione, Les- 
seps, Tolma, Victor Jacquemont. The descriptions represent them 
as superb, and they ought to be at the price named, $4 per bulb ! 
Some of us will have to wait till their novelty is worn off. 

NEW HYBRID GLADIOLUS. 

Lemomez and Marie Lemoine. "These two varieties are Hybrids 
of gladiolus purpureo-auratus, and are of the old garden varieties 
of Gandavensis, and are now offered for the first time. In form 
they approach the old Gladiolus Biperatus, the colors being creamy 
ground with distinct markings of crimson-maroon, with lemon and 
salmon colored cloudings. They have proved quite hardy and may 
be left out of doors from year to year. " Mr. Henry Cannell of 
Swanley, England, a florist of world-wide reputation, says of those 
hardy Hybrids : " It is considered both by professionals and the 
trade, that M. Leomine's greatest victory was in crossing Gladiolus 
purpureo-auratus and gandavensis, two distinct species, and at the 
time they were awarded first-class certificates, it was thought by 
many that some higher and substantial recognition ought to have 
been made for introducing a perfectly hardy constitution into our 
glorious garden gladiolus, and saving the trouble of housing them 
from frost every season. " 



58 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

GLADIOLUS PURPUREO-AURATUS. 

This is a new species from Natal, quite distinct from the common 
species of gladiolus and very attractive. On a slender, bending 
stem, which rises to the height of three or four feet, are borne from 
eight to twelve nodding flowers, somewhat bell-shaped in form, and 
yellow in color, with broad purple strip'es on the lower divisions 
within. Its bulbs are small, and at the end of long runners numer- 
ous offsets are produced which are more certain to flower the suc- 
ceeding season than are the old bulbs. 

GLADIOLUS GANDAVENSIS. 

This ancient type is a very ordinary flower, and it seems almost 
incredible that such superb varieties should have been produced 
therefrom by cross-fertilization. In the hands of the French florists 
it has attained to the superior position it occupies to-day. More than 
forty years ago Mons. Souchet, "head gardener at the Chateau of Fon- 
tainebleau, first called attention to this flower, and began its im- 
provement, and although some few other French florists, such as 
Messrs. Courant, Berger, Lamoine, Verdier and others followed his 
example, yet nearly all of the varieties now in commerce in France, 
are of the raising of that now venerable and respected private citi- 
zen. His successors, Messrs. Soulliard and Brunelet supply the 
great French houses of Paris, by whom the bulbs are forwarded to 
all parts of the world. About thirty years ago Mr. Kelway of Long- 
port, in Somersetshire, began his culture and hybridizing of the 
flower, and has built up an immense business. He devotes fifteen 
acres to Gladiolus exclusively, and the number of seedlings annu- 
ally raised is 200,000. In 1879-80, Mr. Kelway exhibited eighteen 
named seedlings which were severally awarded first-class certificates 
as possessing striking original characteristics. Of our own emi- 
nently successful growers, Messrs. Hallock and Thorp of Queens, 
N. Y., take the lead. They devote over seven acres to Gladiolus, 
and raise thousands of seedlings. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 59 

MODE OF CULTURE. 

For diversity of color and general effect, either in masses, or in 
beds of three or four rows, placing the bulbs one foot apart and 
three inches deep. Mix a liberal supply of well-rotted manure 
with the soil, and if clayey, use sand. As soon as the plants are suf- 
ficiently tall stake them, and mulch with dressing. 



God might have made *the earth bring forth 

Enough for great and small, 
The oak-tree and the cedar-tree, 

Without a flower at all. 
We might have had enough, enough, 

For every want of ours, 
For luxury, medicine, and toil, 

And yet have had no flowers. 

Then wherefore, wherefore, were they made, 

All dyed with rainbow light. 
All fashioned with supremest grace, 

Upspringing day and night; — 
Springing in valleys green and low, 

And on the mountains high, 
And in the silent wilderness, 

Where no man passes by.' 

Our outward life requires them not,— 

Then wherefore had they birth ?— 
To minister delight to man, 

To beautify the earth; 
To comfort man, — to whisper hope, 

Whene'er his faith is dim, 
For Who so careth for the flowers, 

Will care much more for him. 

Mary Howttt. 




" And so I hold the smallest flower 
Some gracious thought may be ; 
Some message of the Father's love 
Mayhap to you or me." 

ERE we step on disputed ground. Are Geraniums Pelar- 
goniums ? Who shall decide when florists disagree ? There 
are eminent names on both sides of the question. Mr. 
Henry Cannell of Swanley, England; a florist who stands 
in the front rank, and whose name has become so widely known 
in connection with New Life Geranium, of which he was the origi- 
nator, jumbles up together under the head of Pelargoniums every- 
thing we on this side of the water class under the head of Gera- 
niums. A veritable muddle he makes of the matter — that is our 
private opinion — we whisper it to you confidentially. Here is our 
yellow Zonal Guinea; our best scarlet bedder, Gen. Grant, and 
Wellington, and Mrs. Pollock, and Happy Thought, all called Pelar- 
goniums, and yet are quite unlike in leaf and flower what we 
Americans denominate a Pelargonium ; and, to avoid confusion, it 
is certainly advisable for us to adhere to our established distinctive- 
ness. We quote from the Gardener s Chronicle of January 3d, 
1880, a sensible talk on this subject, to which Mr. Cannell takes 
exceptions : " Pelargoniums and Geraniums — I think it would be 
as well to settle by authority the exact names of those flowers that 
seem to be indiscriminately called Pelargoniums and Geraniums. 
Botany has been described as the ' science of giving polysyllabic 
barbarian Greek names to foreign weeds ; ' but while some plants, 
Abies Mariesii for instance, are most carefully described, others, as 
Geraniums, seem to be called by names that do not belong to them, 
ceo) 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 61 

but to quite a different flower. I notice, both in your letter-press 
and advertisement, mention made of Zonal Pelargoniums ; now I 
should certainly decline to receive Geraniums if I ordered Pelar- 
goniums. I am old enough to remember that we had a parti- 
colored green-house flower of a violet shape that was called a Ge- 
ranium, then came a lot of hardy-bedding-out stuff with a truss of 
red flowers, all of one color, followed by Tom Thumbs and Horseshoes 
which grow nicely out of door. Then we were told that we must 
no longer call those green-house plants Geraniums, that their right 
and proper name was Pelargoniums, and that those bedding-out 
plants were, strictly speaking, Geraniums. Now, however, the old 
name Geranium seems to be dropped for both, and the new name 
Pelargonium given to both, surely erroneously ! Let us, however, 
have it fairly settled which is which, so that we may clearly and 
distinctly know what we are talking about, and not make mistakes 
either in writing or talking, in sending to shows, or in ordering 
plants." — James Richard Haig, Blair Hill, Sterling. 

We will now give a part of a lecture delivered last spring before 
a Pelargonium Society in London, by Shirley Hibberd, a delight- 
ful writer on Horticulture, says Mr. Vick, from whose magazine we 
quote the following : 

"A Pelargonium is not a Geranium, although often so called. 
The true Geraniums are for the most part herbaceous plants inhab- 
iting the northern hemisphere, and the Pelargoniums are for the 
most part shrubby or sub-shrubby plants of the southern hem- 
isphere. Let us for a moment wander among the pleasant slopes 
of Darley dale in Derbyshire, or by the banks of the Clyde or the 
Calder. We shall in either case be rewarded by seeing vast sheets 
of the lovely meadow Crane's Bill, Geranium pratense, a true Gera- 
nium, and one of the sweetest flowers in the world. In the rocky 
recesses of Ashwood Dale, or on the banks of the ' bonny Doon/ 
we may chance to see in high summer a profusion of the Herb 



62 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

Robert, Geranium Robertianum, with pink flowers and purple 
leaves, a piece of true vegetable jewelry. And, once more, I invite 
you to an imaginary journey, and we will ride by rail from Furness 
to Whitehaven, in order to behold on the railway bank, more es- 
pecially near St. Bees, a wonderful display of the crimson Crane's 
Bill, Geranium sanguineum, which from July to September, forms 
solid sheets, often of a furlong in length, of the most resplendent 
color. No garden coloring can even so much as suggest the power 
of this plant as it appears at a few places on the Cumberland coast ; 
even the sheets of scarlet poppies we see on badly cultivated corn 
lands are as nothing compared with these masses of one of the 
most common and hardiest of our wild flowers. 

" Now let us fly to the other side of the globe and alight in the 
vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope, say on the vast desert of Karroo, 
where there is much sand, much sunshine, and little rain. Here, 
in the midst of desolation, the world is rich with flowers, for the 
healthy shrub that occurs in patches, glowing with many bright 
hues, consists in part of wild Pelargoniums, which often take the 
form of miniature deciduous trees, although in the valleys, nearer 
the coast, where more rain falls, they are evergreen bushes. 

" Very different in their character are these two tribes of plants, 
and they are not less different in their constitution and aspects. 
We may regard the Geraniums as herbs of Europe, and the Pelar- 
goniums as miniature trees of Africa. When we examine the 
flowers, we find the fine petals of a true Geranium of precisely the 
same shape and size ; but the fine petals of a Pelargonium are not 
so, for sometimes the topmost are the largest, and stand apart from 
the rest with great dignity, like mother and father looking down on 
their dutiful daughters, and in other cases they are the smallest, 
suggesting that the daughters have grown too fast and become un- 
manageable. The florists are doing their utmost to obliterate the 
irregularity of the petals of the Pelargonium, and in this respect to 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. bd 

convert Pelargoniums into Geraniums, but the conversion will not 
be complete until much more wonderful things are accomplished. 
A Geranium has ten stamens, and a Pelargonium has only seven 
(perfect ones). These numbers are not constant, but the excep- 
tions are of no consequence in a general statement of the case. 

" When all is said that can be said about the differences and re- 
semblances of the several genera of Geraniaceae, there remains only 
one constant and unfailing test of a true Pelargonium, and that is 
the nectariferous tube immediately below the flower, and running 
down one side of the flower-stalk. If you hold the pedicel up to 
the light, it may be discerned as giving an indication of a double 
flower-stalk, but when dissected with a pin or the point of a knife, 
it is found to proceed from the base of the largest of the green 
sepals, and it often appears to form a sort of digit or point in the 
line of the pedicel. When you have mastered this part of the 
story, you may cherish the idea that you know something about 
Pelargoniums. 

" The large flowered show varieties and the large-flowered single 
Zonals take the lead, and they are pleasantly followed by a crowd 
of ivy-leaved, double-flowered and variegated sorts that are useful 
and beautiful. The Pelargonium Society has set up a severe stand- 
ard of judging, and a variety must be distinct and good to pass 
through the sieve. Moreover the raising of varieties has been to a 
great extent reduced to scientific principles, and we obtain as a re- 
sult new characters suggestive of the great extent of the field that 
still lies open to the adventurous spirit in cross-breeding. No one 
in recent years has contributed more directly toward the scientific 
treatment of the subject than our own painstaking Treasurer, Dr. 
Denny, of whose labors I propose to present a hasty sketch. 

" Dr. Denny commenced the raising of Pelargoniums in the year 
1866, having in view to ascertain the influence of parentage, and 
thus to establish a rule for the selection of varieties for seed-bearing 



64 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

purposes. In raising varieties with variegated leaves, as also with 
distinct and handsome flowers, he found the pollen parent exercised 
the greatest influence on the offspring. The foundation of his 
strain of circular-flowered Zonals was obtained by fertilizing the 
large starry flowers of Leonidas with pollen taken from the finely 
formed flowers of Lord Derby. From 1871 to the present time 
Dr. Denny has sent out sixty varieties, and he has in the same 
period raised and flowered, and destroyed about 30,000. These 
figures show that when the selection is severe, and nothing is 
allowed to pass that is not of the highest quality, there must be 
500 seedlings grown for the chance of obtaining one worth naming. " 
We have devoted a good deal of space to this citation because of 
its interest and value on the question at issue. Mr. Hibberd has, 
we think, made the matter very clear, and conclusive it must.be to 
the most of minds. Pelargoniums are divided into classes, though 
we rarely see any classifications of them in the catalogues. 

REGAL PELARGONIUMS 

Are comparatively a new type, and from the fact of their having 
more scalloped petals, somewhat approaching a double; they retain 
their petals instead of shedding them as do the single show flowers. 
The Beauty of Oxton and Queen Victoria, novelties of very recent 
introduction, belong to this class. We had them in bloom last year 
and thought them very fine. The Beauty of Oxton has the upper 
petals of a very rich maroon color, darkly blotched ; under petals 
very dark crimson, shaded with maroon ; light center tinted with 
rose. All the petals are attractively and regularly margined with 
white and beautifully fringed. The flowers are large and the extra 
number of petals gives them the appearance of being semi-double. 

Queen Victoria is of a very novel type and marvelously beauti- 
ful. The flowers have cripsy petals, all of which are a rich ver- 
milion in color, broadly margined with white, and the upper ones 



TALKS AB0U1 FLOWERS. §§ 

blotched with maroon. The " Show and Fancy Pelargoniums " 
have what the florists term " blotches, " i. e. large spots on the two 
upper petals, and " spots " which mean the darker marks upon the 
center of the lower ones. The Lady of the Lake belongs to this 
class. Lower petals orange-rose painted with crimson, very dark 
maroon top petals with a narrow, even crimson edge, white center. 
Prince Charlie is very unique in its markings. Color white ele- 
gantly tipped, with rose-violet blotches. 

FRINGED AND STRIPED PELARGONIUMS. 

This is a very handsome class of which there are many new 
varieties. Princess of Wales we had last summer. It has elegant 
frilled petal margins ; flower trusses large size and borne in pro- 
fusion well above the foliage ; ground color pure blush, each petal 
alike marked with a rich dark velvet crimson-scarlet margined 
blotch. 

Star of the East resembles the Princess of Wales in growth and 
profusion of bloom, but with larger flowers, of pure white ground. 
The petals are elegantly fringed, the upper ones marked with a 
rich crimson spot, and the under ones elegantly penciled with 
violet-colored lines. These are among the novelties of recent intro- 
duction. 

HYBRID PERPETUAL PELARGONIUMS. 

A class of distinct habit, free bloomers, mostly fragrant foliage^ 
good for bedding out. Of these we have only had Madame Glev- 
itsky of Bavarian origin. Color, upper petals a fine vermilion, 
veined and spotted with purple, under petals vermilion. 

We were much pleased with Pelargonium Filicifolia Odorata 
for its finely cut leaves of a Fern-like appearance and pleasing 
fragrance. 

Our specimens of the various classes were from the extensive 
and superb collection of Mr. John Saul, of Washington, D. C. 
5 



66 TALKS ABOUT FL O WERS. 

Among them was one which originated in his establishment and 
was named for his wife. It belongs to the " Regal " class. The 
habit is compact and very free flowering, producing large trusses of 
flowers the color of which is a rich glowing vermilion, with light 
center and light margin to the petals. 

We are indebted to Mr. John G. Heinl for specimen plants of 
two " New Monthly Pelargoniums, " now offered for the first time 
to the general public. Of the origin of one, Fred Dorner, we have 
this account given in a letter to Mr. Heinl, from Fred Dorner, Esq., 
of Lafayette. Mr. Dorner says : 

" Six years ago I undertook to grow some Pelargoniums from 
seed. I procured some very choice seed of Ernest Benary of 
Erfust. The seedlings grew finely. About midwinter one com- 
menced to bloom, and to my astonishment kept on blooming for 
ten months, during which period it was never without flowers. 
The plants grew to a good size and at one time I counted forty- 
seven good-sized trusses on it. The winter and everblooming qual- 
ity, with the large and beautifully colored flowers, makes this Pelar- 
gonium a great acquisition to the amateur as well as the florist. I 
have seen here in Lafayette plants in windows blooming all winter, 
and it is acknowledged here to be the best and easiest kept house 
and window plant, blooming from nine to ten months in the year. " 

Freddie Heinl originated with Mr. John G. Heinl, who says it is 
a sport from Fred Dorner ; it is lighter-colored and the flowers are 
somewhat larger. That these are both a rare acquisition is evident 
from the testimony of such florists as Mr. John Thorp of Queens, 
and Mr. Henry A. Dreer of Philadelphia. Mr. Thorp says, "There 
are no Pelargoniums equal to them and they have a decided right 
to be called perpetual. " Three months later he writes : "I am 
more than ever impressed with their superiority over any perpetual 
blooming varieties, and they must take foremost rank. " Mr. Dreer 
says: "The Pelargoniums have proven very satisfactory. They 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 6? 

flowered during the greater part of the summer, and are now full 
of buds. " 

The colored lithograph, which Mr. Heinl says is a good repre- 
sentation, shows them to be very beautiful. We should think that 
to call a plant so dissimilar in foliage and flower a Geranium, would 
be a misnomer, why not equally such to call a Geranium a Pelar- 
gonium ? 

MODE OF CULTURE. 

As we have seen by Mr. Hibberd's address, the Pelargoniums 
native home is on arid plains where there is much sand, much sun- 
shine and little rain, so that they are chiefly dependent on heavy 
dews for moisture. To plant them in heavy soil, give them a shel- 
tered situation and liberal and frequent watering, would be a mode 
of treatment directly the reverse of what they require. In the cul- 
tivation of all plants we should as far as possible adapt them to 
their native conditions. One skilled amateur says his rule is to let 
the earth in the pots become thoroughly dry before watering, and 
always to give a period of rest after blooming. Another, a lady, 
said she never had any success with Pelargoniums until she gave 
them a heavy period of rest after blooming. In the spring, when 
putting her plants out of doors, she laid the pots containing Pelar- 
goniums on their sides, and let them remain perfectly dry until fall. 
She then took the plants out of the pots, shook the soil from the 
roots, and scrubbed them well with a hard brush and water. The 
old-looking roots were cut off and the top trimmed down to six or 
eight inches in height. They were then repotted in rich earth and 
watered very moderately till they started into full growth, and after 
that more freely. With this treatment they never fail to bloom. 

A young physician who raised many extraordinarily fine varieties 
of Pelargoniums from seed, in stating his mode of culture, said that 
his practice was to re-pot large plants whenever they seemed in 
danger of being pot-bound. The mold he used was made up of 



68 TA LKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 

black earth from under a manure heap, and a little stiff clay to re- 
tain the water. After the plants were done flowering, they were 
trimmed rather close, and with regard to probable places of sprout- 
ing. They were then placed in partial shade, and all shoots found 
straying out of symmetry were pinched off. His large plants were 
kept moist till after bloom, and then rather dry. — Floral Cabinet. 

We have given these methods so that if not successful with one, 
another can be adopted. 



LINES ON BEING ASKED, WHENCE IS THE FLOWER? 

In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, 
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, 
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, 
To please the desert and the sluggish brook j 
The purple petals fallen in the pool, 

Made the black waters with their beauty gay,— 
Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool, 

And court the flower that cheapens his-array, 

Rhodora 1 if the sages ask thee why 

This charm is wasted on the marsh and sky, 

Dear, tell them, that if eyes were made for seeing, ' 

Then beauty is its own cause for being. 

Why thou wert there, O rival of the Rose ! 

I never thought to ask ; I never knew, 
But in my simple ignorance suppose 

The selfsame Power that brought me there, brought you. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson. 



c§2 



SiP 



A LEGEND OF THE FUCHSIA, FROM VICK'S MAGAZINE. 



A legend of this little flower, 

I heard not long ago ; 
'Tis this, that when upon the cross 

The sinless Saviour died, 
And soldier with his cruel spear 

Had pierced his precious side, 
The holy drops flowed to his feet, 

Then fell upon the sod, 
When Mary knelt and wept for Him, 

Her son, and yet her God ; 
An angel who was hovering near, 

Thus breathed a prayer to heaven : 
•'Oh, Father, let them not be lost, 

These drops so freely given, 
But in some form of beauty still, 

Let them remain on earth, 
And here upon this rugged hill, 



Give some sweet floweret birth." 
Then, forth from the ensanguined sod, 

A Fuchsia sprang that morn, 
Rich crimson, dyed with Christian blood, 

Wrapped in his " robe of scorn," 
Drooping in sorrow, still it bows 

Ever its graceful head; 
Shivering in the slightest breeze — 

Trembling in fear and dread ; 
For the dark shadow of the cross 

Can ne'er forgotten be, 
Where all the perfume of its breath 

Was spent on Calvary. 
Yes, offering its rich fragrance there, 

As incense at His feet, 
The Fuchsia, though so beautiful, 

Can never be more sweet. 




ITS HISTORY AND CULTURE. 

HE Fuchsia was introduced into England in the latter half 
of the last century by a sailor, at whose home it was dis- 
covered by Mr. James Lee, a florist of Hammersmith, who 
secured the original plant by paying quite a sum of money 
for it, and in addition promising to give to the sailor's wife one of 
the first young plants he would succeed in raising. In a short time 
he succeeded in producing several hundred nice plants, nearly all 
of which were sold at a guinea each. Shortly after this a captain 
Firth presented one that he had brought from Chili to the Royal 
Garden at Kew. The plant was named in honor of Leonard Fuch, 
an eminent German Botanist, who lived in the 16th century. The 
varieties in cultivation to-day are vast improvements. One of the 

(68) 



70 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

early varieties was called Fulgens. We recollect seeing this variety 
some four or five years ago, and could not refrain from comparing 
it with a number of varieties lately introduced. The flower may 
be described as follows : A slender crimson tube two inches in 
length ; sepals narrow, one-half inch ; in color a shade lighter than 
the tube ; the corolla purple ; in size very small compared with the 
varieties of the present time. This variety is a strong grower, 
large foliage which has a silvery appearance. Thus we can have a 
slight idea of that from which have been produced the beauties of 
our time ; thus can we see what a skillful florist can do when he 
has something to begin with. Some of the varieties of the Fuchsia 
are hardy in England as well as in some parts of our own country. 
A traveler informs us that he has seen them in California trained 
over arbors and to the houses just as we train grape vines here, 
and growing most luxuriantly. They grow in favor very rapidly 
wherever introduced, and it was but a short time after they became 
known we find the Poet eulogizing them in these lines — 

" Graceful flowers on graceful stem, 
Of Flora's gift a favorite gem ; 
From tropic fields it came to cheer, 
The natives of a climate drear ; 
And grateful for our fostering care, 
Has learnt the wintry blast to bear. " 

While some flowers have been extremely popular for a season, 
and then have sunk into comparative obscurity, the popularity of 
the Fuchsia has never waned, but on the contrary has continually 
been on the increase until now it occupies a prominent place in 
every collection of plants, be that collection large or small. There 
is a cause for this popularity, and that cause is, it is of easy culture 
and produces its flowers freely, often under adverse circumstances. 
The Fuchsia is readily propagated by cuttings of the young wood. 
These will root in from two to three weeks, when they should be 



TALKS ABOUT FL O WERS. 71 

potted in rich soil, say one-half garden soil or loam enriched with 
well-rotted manure, and one-half leaf soil, with a little sand added 
to make the compost very porous. From the time the plant is first 
potted it should never be allowed to become so dry as that the 
growth will be checked. The great secret of growing Fuchsias suc- 
cessfully is to keep them growing. In order to do this we must 
provide for them a rich soil, an abundance of pot-room and a moist 
atmosphere. If you wish to grow large specimen plants the cut- 
tings should be struck (that is rooted), early in the season. This 
will allow a longer period for them in which to make their growth 
before the season for blooming arrives ; by keeping the plants sup- 
plied with plenty of pot-room the time of blooming will be some- 
what retarded, and if on the other hand we desire to have the plants 
in bloom as early as possible we allow plenty of pot-room during 
the early part of the growing season, after which we allow the pots 
to become pretty well filled with roots, and abundance of beautiful 
pendulous flowers will be the result. 

As house or window plants the Fuchsias are very popular. The 
variety Speciosa will bloom very freely during the winter. During 
the summer months they should be protected from the direct rays 
of the sun, and kept well syringed. As bedding plants their utility 
is limited, as they must be planted in a shaded position. A bed of 
them in such a position makes a pleasant appearance, and in this 
way they are easily kept through the hottest part of the year. 
They may be bedded out, or may be allowed to remain in the pots 
and the pots plunged in the garden. In this latter way they will 
need additional care, as they must not be allowed to suffer for want 
of water. If it is desirable to keep the old plants another year they 
may be removed to the house or cellar, and kept cool and dry until 
toward spring, when they can be repotted in fresh soil, watered 
scantily, and started into growth and pruned or trained to any 
desired shape or form. — The Floral World. 



72 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



The foregoing article so fully and clearly stated all that was essen- 
tial respecting the culture of the Fuchsia, that we have transferred 
it entire instead of writing something original. We need now only 
add a few things respecting some choice varieties and recent novel- 
ties. " Champion of the World has the largest blooms of any 
Fuchsia ; the tubes are short ; sepals very broad and of great sub- 
stance, well reflexed, and of a most beautiful coral red ; the foot- 
stalk of each bloom is of unusual length and strength, so that each 
flower stands out bold and graceful. Corolla of immense size, and 
as it expands forms two-thirds of a perfect ball. Color is of the 
most intense bright dark purple. Free tall grower, and for con- 
servatory decoration is one of the most remarkable Fuchsias for 
size ever yet sent out." — H. CannelL 

The illustration of this Fuchsia in Mr. Can n ell's Floral Guide 
measures two and one-third inches in diameter, and yet we are told 
that when well grown, the Champion produces much larger bloom 
than the engraving. It has four rows of petals, and looks round 
and full like a pink. Bland's New Striped is of the single class,- but 
the corolla is very large, of a rich plum-colored purple, regular and 
distinctly striped red and rose, pyramidal shape, habit strong. 

Of the Hybrid variegated Fuchsias, Snnray is by far the best 
with red variegated leaves ever sent out ; it is very ornamental. 
Pillar of Gold is a very showy variety with yellow leaves. Among 
the novelties in color, we find mention of Aurora Superba ; tube 
and sepals rich salmon, corolla large and spreading of a distinct 
orange scarlet highly suffused with yellow, fine habit and free 
bloomer. Polyhymnia is a dwarf yellow. 

Of Lord Beaconsfield, Mr. Cannell says : "One of the strongest 
and most conspicuous blooming varieties ever sent out, and one of 
the very best for sale and decoration ; flowers neither good shape 
nor color, but produced in very large clusters and blooms nearly all 
the year if allowed plenty of root room. " 



TALKS ABOUT FL WERS. 73 

This Fuchsia originated with Mr. John Laing, Stanstead Park 
Nursery, Forest Hill, near London, and is a cross between Fuchsia 
Fulgens and one of the modern varieties known as " Perfection. " 
It was exhibited at some of the meetings of the Royal Horticultural 
Society first, as Laing's Hybrid, in 1875 or 1876. It much resem- 
bles the old Speciosa, but is more free blooming even than that, and 
its flowers are twice as large. 

Kingsburyana, figured in Mr. Cannell's Floral Guide — which 
comes to us from Swanley, England — is very large and double. 
" It is another addition to the double white corolla class, and is 
remarkable for its fine vigorous growth and large showy flowers ; 
its corolla is particularly novel and beautiful. " 

Mrs. H. Cannell, named for the florist's wife by Swaffield, its orig- 
inator, " was one of the greatest lifts in bringing the double white 
corolla to perfection, " and has given great satisfaction in this 
country. We have never seen one so beautiful, but Mr. C. E 
Allen who has a large collection, including those rare gems from 
across the water, we have named, says : " Snow White is the very 
best double white Fuchsia ever sent out. A fine, erect grower, 
and a remarkably free and early bloomer. Sepals coral red. Su- 
perior to Miss Lucy Finnis in that it is of a stronger habit. Have 
none now in bloom. " Among the fine specimen blooms of the 
dark purple type sent us by Mr. Allen, we think Elm City the 
gem for size, richness of color — a double dark purple striped with 
scarlet, sepals scarlet-crimson — and compact form. The Swanley 
Gem is of a peculiar shape, single, very open bell-shape corolla, 
"frilled" Mr. Cannell calls it, rose color with tube and sepals coral 
scarlet, the latter are very prettily reflexed. 

We began our list with the Champion — the largest known — we 
will end it with the tiniest, Microphylla } the whole plant, flowers and 
leaves are Liliputian among the Fuchsias. 



74 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

FUCHSIAS IN THE ISLE OF MAN. 

Here these are truly wonderful ; they grow up the house fronts, 
and grow into large trees, so large that you can have a tea-party 
around the bole of the trees. They are also grown for hedges and 
kept nicely clipped, and with their bright green leaves and scarlet 
flowers look cheerful and refreshing. The winds and the spray from 
the sea do not in the least affect them. — The Garden. 

Mr. Vick, in his Magazine says : "Once when in Europe, we saw 
at Ventnor, in the Isle of Wight, a Fuchsia tree, perhaps twenty 
feet or more in height, with a trunk full fifteen inches in diameter. 
The editor of the Flore des Serres of Belgium, in writing of this 
tree, says it is doubtless the largest specimen in Europe, but is 
only a baby compared with specimens the editor has seen in South 
America. Seeing our notice of this tree, Mr. Nicholls of Sharon 
Springs, N. Y., wrote us that he had "seen Fuchsias in the Isle of 
Jersey, in the English Channel, thirty feet in height, and there are 
hundreds there from twenty to twenty-five feet. " 

PROPAGATING FUCHSIAS. 

We have found the most effective method to be by placing the 
cuttings in a bottle of water, and keeping them in a sunny window, 
but the following method is said to be practiced by cottagers in the 
west of England : " In the autumn, after the frost has destroyed 
the foliage, the wood of the present season is cut off close to the 
ground and laid like a sheaf of corn in a trench a foot deep. The 
bundle is covered with a few inches of soil, and here it remains 
until spring, when a multitude of young shoots may be seen push- 
ing their way through. The soil is then carefully moved, and with 
a sharp knife a cut is made each side of a joint, and the result is 
rooted plants enough for the parish. The old stool throws up more 
vigorously than before, to be served in the same way the following 
autumn. " 




BY ONE OF THEMSELVES. 

^>NLY a few years ago, not one of the Coleus family had a place 
in the gardens of Europe and America, and I have been told 
that in our absence gardeners depended chiefly upon plants 
with showy flowers for ornamenting their gardens and 
grounds. When some of my remote relatives were introduced, nu- 
merous were the surmisings as to what place they should occupy 
amongst cultivated plants. This was especially so in the case of 
Perilla Nankinensis, a plant of most sombre hue, but so striking 
withal as to attract general attention. Some looked upon it as the 
forerunner of a class of plants destined to play an important part in 
the future, whilst others regarded it as a vile weed. Nevertheless, 
considerable attention was bestowed upon its cultivation for a time ; 
but ultimately became so neglected as to be met with chiefly as a gar- 
den weed. This may have been owing in some measure to the intro- 
duction of Coleus Blumei, which species was regarded with greater 
favor, and at once took a place which it held fairly well for a time, or 
until he whose name I bear obtained from it varieties so novel and 
brilliant in color, as to entitle them to rank high amongst the time- 
honored favorites of the garden. From the most reliable information, 
I infer that this species at least is one of my immediate ancestors, 
and whether I owe as much of kinship to any other, has not been 
made known. But this I do know, from the day I was first introduced 
to the public, in my chocolate and violet colored suit until the present 
time, I have been praised as few plants have been. But being 
neither envious nor vain, I have desired the company of those 
whose colors are brighter than my own, as variety in harmony gives 
greater satisfaction than any one can singly bestow. Some of the 

(75) 




DREER'S NEW HYBRID COLEUSES. 



(76) 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



77 



older varieties are well fitted to produce this effect, and none more 
so, perhaps, than my old friends Aurea Marginata, and Golden Cir- 
cle; but the majority of their class either lack expression, or are 
so delicately constituted as to become perfect " frights " when 
planted out of doors. 

During my time, many varieties with excellent characters when 
in my company, have performed their parts but poorly, whilst 
others have had enough to do to keep up a doubtful reputation. It 
was with pleasure, therefore, I hailed the arrival of a fresh set from 
England a short time ago, headed by George Bunyard, who, with 
his companions were so highly spoken of, that I hoped one or more 
of them would prove of service to me. But this hope has not been 
realized, and to-day, for all of them, I am as destitute of support as 
I was before their arrival. Poor George, after being much in his 
company for a season, it is only fair to say, he performed his part 
so poorly that I hope, for the credit of both, we shall never meet 
again under similar circumstances. 

What the incoming season may bring forth, yet remains to be 
seen, but at present the prospects are good for a grand display, as 
a new order of aspirants are being marshaled for duty, whose mer- 
its, some say, are such as to eclipse the old members of our family, 
and even take from me the honors I have enjoyed so long. Should 
their claim be well founded, I shall surrender my right to the first 
place without regret, and be even glad to take any subordinate 
place I may be deemed competent to fill. But should they fail to 
meet the expectations thus produced, it will be my duty to remain 
at my post until such time as new varieties are found, regarding 
whose merits there can be no doubt. 

Be it understood that what has been said about my associates 
has reference only to them as bedders ; for it is well known, many 
varieties when grown under glass, and partially shaded from the 
glare of sunshine, possess greater brilliancy and beauty than I lay 



78 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

claim to. For this reason, I think those so constituted as to re- 
quire the protection of a green-house, should be sparingly, if at all, 
planted out. of doors, and the outside department exclusively occu- 
pied by such as attain their greatest perfection in free air and the 
full tide of sunlight. 

Before closing this monologue, I am forced to say a word in be- 
half of a plant seemingly possessed of extraordinary capacity for 
the work in which I excel. I refer to Acalypha Macaffeana, the 
leaves of which are large and finely formed ; color, reddish-brown, 
and irregularly blotched with bright shades of crimson. When 
fully exposed to sunlight, it looks as if " on fire through all its 
length," and being much more stately than myself, might form the 
central figure in a group of Coleus or other plants with the great- 
est acceptance. — Verschaffeltii, in Gardeners Monthly. 

We do not know who is the author of this very interesting auto- 
biography of an old and popular Coleus. The florist for whom it 
was named, M. Nuytans VerscharTelt, was the adopted son of the 
late Jean Verschaffelt, of whose nursery near Ghent, he was the 
manager, and to which he succeeded on the death of the proprietor. 
M. Nuytans was a very distinguished and highly esteemed horticul- 
turist ; he was an active member of the Royal Agricultural and Bo- 
tanical Society of Ghent and Chevalier of the Order of Philip the 
Magnanimous. He died June, 1880, in the forty-fourth year of 
his age. 

There has been a remarkable progress in the development of the 
Coleus since the introduction of Blumei, but the two past years 
have been more distinguished than any previous ones by the orig- 
inating of many new and beautiful hybrids. Pre-eminent among 
these are " Dreer's Set of Tri-colored Coleus/' fifteen varieties ; 
" Queensland Set," fifteen varieties, and''Queenland Set of Dwarfs," 
ten varieties. Mr. Henry A. Dreer says of them : " These varie- 
ties which it is a pleasure to offer, have originated in our nursery 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



79 



grounds during the past summer, were selected from perhaps six 
thousand seedlings excelling in point of color, variety, habit and 
novelty, and we feel safe in predicting for them a future that leaves 
nothing wanting in this class of plants." 

Mr. Dreer is sustained in his statement by the verdict of many 
of the leading florists who visited them, and the committees of the 
Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New York Horticultural Societies, the 
summer and autumn before they were offered to the public. 

In the February number of the Gardeners Monthly, a lady asks 
some of the correspondents who have tried the new Coleuses, to 
report thereon, whether as brilliant as their illustrated types, and 
if they retain their colors in bedding out. We will give the replies 
from the March number. 

J. R. H., Richmond, Va., says : " In response to the query of 
Mrs. R. B. Edson about Dreer's New Hybrid Coleus, I take pleas- 
ure in giving my experience with regard to their -hardiness in the 
summer sun. As the summers in our city are extremely dry and 
hot, I think it a very fair trial of them. 

" When I received my box of Coleus from Mr. Dreeii and opened 
it, the first thought was that I was swindled nicely, while I at once 
perceived that they were of an entirely new type of Coleus, but 
considered their colors very ugly indeed, and quite different from 
the colored sheet in his catalogue. However, I determined to give 
them a trial before expressing my opinion. I put them in the hot- 
test place I could find, determined to get out of them all the ' come 
out,' should there be any, and to my utter surprise, their colors 
changed so rapidly and beautifully, that after a lapse of two weeks, 
I could scarcely believe they were the same plants. I so much 
liked them I determined they should have a prominent place in my 
garden, and accordingly planted them in my border where they 
did not miss the sun at all while it shone. They grew off at once 
with the old colors (as when received), which discouraged me again, 



8 ^ TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

when to my surprise, about the middle of June, they began to show 
their bright colors again, and in three weeks they were the bright- 
est and prettiest Coleuses I have ever seen, and remained so with 
a continual growth until they were killed by the frost. 

I must confess I never saw plants resemble as much the colored 
plates of their likeness, as did my Coleus ; just like the plate with 
the exception of the fine gloss, which of course I did not expect. 
It seemed that the hotter the atmosphere was the brighter they 
looked, and have stood the surt about twenty per cent better than 
the older varieties. They have given me more pleasure than any 
set of new plants I have ever received. I consider them the great- 
est acquisition I have known in the soft-wooded class of plants. 
While there is quite a similarity in the tri-colored set, it is not at 
all an objection. The only objections to any of them are that 
Amabilis and Mrs. E. B. Cooper, while very rank growers, are ex- 
ceedingly ugly, and Superbissima entirely worthless. It will not 
grow, I don't care what I do with it. Some seedlings that I have 
raised from them are very richly colored, and I think them much 
prettier than Aheir parents, though I have not had a chance to test 
their qualities in the summer." 

We regret that the writer did not give the names of those Coleus 
he so much admired as well as those which are " exceedingly ugly " 
and " entirely worthless. " We can report the same lack of success 
with Superbissima. It would not grow one bit, but remained sta- 
tionary several months, and then died. 

Mr. E. L. Koethens reports from a large collection : " For bed- 
ding these are the chosen ones, Gracilliana, Miss R. Kirkpatrick, 
Superbissima, and above all, Speciosa. But for inside culture, 
many of the new ones are unsurpassed for beauty in any class ot 
decorative plants. Here again Speciosa and Miss R. Kirkpatrick 
of Dreer's set, lay claims to attention, and his Amabilis is attractive 
for its free blooming properties. Fairy is also conspicuous, and 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 81 

Beacon takes the place of Superbissima indoors, but Zephyr, in 
my opinion crowns them all as a foliage plant for indoor culture ; 
a single head often measuring ten inches across, with a rich bronzy- 
brown color. The above are all valuable acquisitions and should 
be in every collection. " 

Mrs. M. D. Wellcome thus writes : " Mrs. R. B. Edson in her 
charming ' Garden Notes and Gossip, ' asks that some of the 
correspondents who have tried the new Coleus, Dreer's and Hender- 
son's new sets, report thereon. I have not tried Henderson's, and 
only six of Dreer's, so I am not prepared to report very fully. 
But I wish to make special mention of Miss Ritta Kirkpatrick, 
which looks like the picture only it is handsomer. It is the one 
represented by a large leaf, creamy white center, broad, green 
lobed margin. It was a wee plant when it came to me in early 
spring, but it very rapidly outgrew the other five, branching out 
finely, so that I began in June to take slips from it, and have con- 
tinued to do this each month to the present time. I should think 
I had rooted full thirty cuttings, and the original plant, which has 
been beheaded on three of its branches, has now twenty-eight that 
would I think all make very nice giants, if treated as were the 
others. I rooted them all in sand, kept constantly wet, and exposed 
nearly all day to the rays of the sun. I never saw anything so 
quickly take root and so rapidly grow as did those cuttings. At 
one time I kept half a dozen about two months in the pure sand, 
till they were fine large plants, with a great mass of roots. They 
can be removed from the sand to pots of earth without retarding 
their growth. I always allow the particles which adhere to remain 
in transplanting. This Coleus is a special favorite with me. Fairy, 
foliage yellow and green, blotched with crimson-scarlet, and Charm, 
yellow, tinged with bronzy scarlet, stained with dark brown ; green 
deeply serrated margin, were very beautiful in the open ground, 
and from these I rooted also in sand several very fine cuttings. 
6 



82 l^ALKS ABOUT FL O WERS. 

But the original plants did not grow rapidly. I think the Coleus 
adds much to the attraction of the border, but it is for the winter 
window-garden they are specially valuable." 

These new Hybrids have stood the test of a year's trial, and 
three varieties exhibited at the June meeting of the Royal Horti- 
cultural Society, London, carried off the highest prize for this class 
of plants, and received very flattering newspaper notices. In Mr. 
Dreer's catalogue for 1881, he has selected twenty-four which 
he calls the cream of those New Hybrids. Superbissima is included, 
while Zephyr is omitted. Kirkpatrick is among them, we are happy 
to say. So superb are some of the recent Coleuses, Verschaffellii, 
we fear, will have to retire still further into private life. Being 
quite advanced in years, we presume he will not regret this. We 
are sure that he will always be treated with that respect which is 
due to honorable old age. 




iOW much one who gives attention may learn in the vast 
field of Nature ! How varied are its attractions, how won- 
derful its work, how indescribable its beauties ! There is 
^f&P^ a fascination in these studies, whatever may be the depart- 
ment to which they are directed, and the more one learns the more 
sensible they become of the limitations of their knowledge. I have 
already told you I had within a year or two been awaking to a 
realization of the value of ornamental foliage plants in giving an 
abiding brightness and beauty to the window-garden and open bor- 
der. As humanity is ever prone to extremes I may become too 
enthusiastic in this direction. I thought there was some danger of 
it as I surveyed my array of pots filled with fine specimens of vari- 
ous sorts. I will take them for my subject to-day, giving whatever 
facts of interest I have been enabled to gather from various sources. 

CROTONS. 

Everybody has heard of croton oil, but only a few of that same 
everybody know anything about Crotons. The number of species 
known is enormous, and they are found in many parts of the world, 
but chiefly at the South Sea Islands. Some kinds are native to our 
own country, mainly in the South and Southwest, but these are not 
characterized by the brilliant markings of the foreign varieties. 
Their leaves are often thick and large, but usually they are very 
long and narrow and ribbed, veined, spotted and blotched with 
crimson, scarlet and gold. They are a very interesting class of 
ornamental plants, and their low price, twenty-five to fifty cents, 
except for novelties, places them within reach of the common peo- 
ple. They do best in a rich soil, with a little peat and sand ; also 
an abundance of water. 

(83) 



84 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



The specimens I have are these : Aucubce Folium — leaves large, 
dark green, blotched with golden yellow. Interruptum, very long 
leaves, mid-rib bright scarlet, shading to gold — very graceful. Ir- 
regulare, so named because of the irregularity of its leaves in shape 
and color — two precisely alike being rare. 

The handsomest however of my collection, is Croton Weismanni. 
The ground color is a shining bright green, striped and mottled 
with golden yellow. The leaves grow to a foot in length and three- 
fourths of an inch wide. Among the more recent and high priced 
novelties are Croton Evansianus and Princess of Wales. The 
former is " distinguished by the peculiar form of its trilobate leaves 
and the depth of coloring pervading the whole plant. The newest 
formed leaves are light olive green with mid-ribs and veins of golden 
yellow, and the interspaces spotted with the same color. As the 
leaves become older, the green deepens and changes to a bright 
bronzy crimson, and the golden yellow of the mid-ribs, veins and 
spots becomes a rich orange scarlet. " Princess of Wales is one of 
the long-leaved drooping forms of Croton, and is very distinct in 
character. The leaves are from one and one-half to two feet in 
length. " The ground color is green, and the variegations creamy- 
yellow, very variable in color. The markings are of the maculate 
style, with here and there large blotches of clear cream-yellow, and 
and in other parts clouded markings of smaller confluent blotches 
and spots. Occasionally these conditions are reversed. 

The Croton Fenzii, recently offered in commerce by M. Solvi- 
ati, of Florence, is described as a jewel among the Crotons. It is 
the result of a cross effected in the green-houses of Sesto, between 
C. Veitchii and C. Weismanni, and has moderate sized oval acumi- 
nate leaves, richly veined with golden yellow, the principal nerves 
being purplish-red, which color extends to the stem and the petiole. 
The habit is so dwarf and compact that plants only a foot high are 
often seen with all their splendor, the yellow streaking then ex- 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



85 



tending to almost the whole surface of the leaf, and the red nerves 
shining on the yellow ground. It is a variety especially fitted for 
the decoration of small green-houses, as it requires very little room 
to be able to develop all its charms. This variety has been dedi- 
cated to the Chevalier E. O. Fenzi, President of the Royal Horti- 
cultural Society of Tuscany. — Londo7i Florist. 

FANCY CALADIUMS. 

Of these the varieties are numerous, and the foliage very orna- 
mental. Those I have are Dr. Hondley ; green ground, blotched 
with rose, crimson center ; Madame Houllette, — blush clusters and 
white spots on green ground ; Sagittcefolium pictimi, — arrow-shaped 
leaves prettily spotted with white; Madame Alfred Bleu, — the 
ground color of the leaves is silvery white, which is blotched with 
green, in some leaves very sparingly, in others, nearly half the sur- 
face ; the veins are prominent and of rich rosy crimson, bordered 
by narrow bands of a lighter shade. Alfred Mame, — beautiful 
deep carmine, richly marked with rosy spots and white leaf margin. 
La Perle de Brazil, — ground color, green, reticulated all over with 
pure white, like fine lace. These last three are from the collection 
of Mr. John Saul of Washington, and are new. 

Fancy Caladiums do best in somewhat shaded positions, in well 
enriched soil, composed of finely decomposed manure, leaf mold 
and sand, and a moist, warm temperature. Great care must be 
had in their earliest stage of growth, to prevent decay of the tubers 
by over-watering. They can be preserved in sand during the win- 
ter, in a room sufficiently warm to prevent danger from frost. 

CALADIUM ESCULENTUM, 

Is the most striking and grand of the Ornamental Foliage Plants 
for the lawn or flower garden. It will grow in any good soil, and 
is very easy of cultivation. When of full size it stands about five 
feet high, and its immense leaves often measure four feet in length 



86 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

by two and a half in breadth ; very smooth, of a light green color, 
beautifully veined and variegated with dark green. When killed 
down by frost in the autumn, the bulbs must be taken up and stored 
in the cellar. The Caladium belongs to the family of " Jack in the 
Pulpit," or Indian Turnip, and the Ethiopian or Egyptian Calla. 
They rarely bloom in our Northern States. The flowers resemble 
in shape the Calla Lily, only are much larger and narrower, are of 
a rich cream color, very fragrant at first, but soon lose their odor, 
which resembles the Magnolia. 

ERANTHEMUMS. 

These comprise a large genus valuable for their foliage and also 
winter flowers, yet not very generally cultivated. Mine are labeled 
Andersoniiy "a handsome orchid-like flower, white, spotted with 
red." PictuMy foliage prettily streaked with white, a strong, vig- 
orous grower ; Tricolor, leaves prettily marked with pink and green ; 
Cooperi, has flowers white, prettily streaked with purple ; El Dorado , 
light green foliage, with golden veinings. 

MARANTAS. 

These are considered by florists as among the most elegant of 
tropical plants, but like the Eranthemums, are not generally known. 
They are all natives of tropical America, and require strong heat 
with plenty of moisture. They are low-priced, and ought to be 
more extensively cultivated. I think mine are very beautiful. Ex- 
imia } upper surface of leaves striped with grayish-white ; under, 
purplish-violet. Leopordina, pale green with oblong blotches of 
deep green. Mikans, shining green with a white feathery stripe. 
Van den Heckii, dark glossy leaves, mid-rib silvery white. Makay- 
ana, a very ornamental dwarf species ; leaf-stalks slender reddish- 
purple, blade of the leaf ovate, ground color, olive green, beautifully 
and regularly blotched with creamy yellow of a transparent charac- 
ter; on each side the mid-rib are oblong dark green blotches, 



TALKS ABOUT FL WERS. 8? 

while the under side is rosy red. Tubispatha is an elegant and 
very attractive species of erect habit of growth ; leaves some nine 
or ten inches long, light green, ornamented on each side the mid- 
rib with oblong blotches of cinnamon brown. Veitchii, " The 
leaves of this grand plant are upward of twelve inches in length ; 
the under surface of a rich purplish-wine color, the upper of a deep 
shining green, blotched with conspicuous patches along each side, 
of a yellowish-green, almost verging on gray. The contrast is very 
marked, and the whole plant very beautiful." 

Achyranthes, a genus of richly colored tropical plants, are bet- 
ter known, and to a limited extent are found in many gardens, Ver- 
schaffelti, with its dark crimson leaf, being the most common. 
Brilliantissima, ruby red, is a new English variety ; Wallisii is a 
new dwarf, with small purple leaves ; Lindeni Aurea Reticulata, 
foliage netted with golden yellow, on a light green ground. These 
plants are of the easiest cultivation, and endure strong sunshine 
without injury. 

Alternantheras are also very effective for bedding plants ; 
habit dwarf. Foliage is in some of a magenta-rose color, others, 
yellow and red ; Purpurea has a purplish tint, and Versicolor, crim- 
son and pink shadings. They are unsurpassed for ribbon or carpet 
bedding. 

Dieffenbachia, a genus of stove plants with very showy foliage. 
Brasiliensis , a handsome variety, the leaves averaging eighteen 
inches in length by eight or nine inches in width ; the ground 
color of the leaf is deep green, and the whole surface is mottled 
with small blotches of greenish-yellow and white; Bausei is a 
stocky-growing, broad-leaved variety, with yellowish-green leaves, 
which are irregularly edged and blotched with dark green, and also 
spotted with white, the markings being peculiarly effective ; Weirie 
is of dwarf habit, the foliage of a bright green color, thickly blotched 
and spotted with pale yellow. One of the finest of the species. 



55 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS, 

They grow best in loam and peat equal quantities; with a little sand. 
Require strong heat and frequent watering. 

A few ornamental foliage plants of rare beauty received from 
Mr. John Saul merit special notice : 

Cyanaphyllum Spectandum is a grand plant with large, oblong, 
lustrous leaves which have a rich, velvety appearance ; they are 
beautifully ribbed with whitish color. 

Alocacia Macrorhiza Variegata, its large caladium-shaped leaves 
are marbled and broadly splashed with white. Some leaves are 
nearly all white ; Zebrina, fine yellow leaf-stalk with distinct black 
marks ; Illustris, the leaf-stalks are erect, and have a brownish-pur- 
ple tint, color a rich green, marked between the principal veins by 
broad patches of a blackish olive, and forming a striking contrast 
with the brighter green portions of the leaf surface ; Sedini, " A 
very beautiful hybrid between A. Metallica and A. Lowii. The 
form of the leaf is perfectly intermediate between the two parents, 
whilst the coloring is a very striking and pleasing combination of 
the metallic hue of one parent, with the dark green and prominent 
white veins of the other." Alocasias require a moist heat during 
their growing season. Soil, peat, with a small portion of loam, 
sand and manure. 

Acalypha Macafeeana is another of the rare and beautiful foliage 
plants alluded to. It is considered the best Acalypha ever offered. 
It is certainly very handsome with its " sub-cordate and serrate 
leaves, eight inches long and six broad, frequently cut into many 
forms, and very highly colored bright red, blotched with deep bron- 
zy crimson." It proves to be an admirable plant for bedding out. 
Quite as attractive every way is Panax Laciniatuni, " An elegant 
and very distinct habited stove plant from the South Sea islands. 
The leaves are tinted and indistinctly marked with pale olive brown, 
and form a rather complicated mass of narrow segments ; they are 
bipinnate, nearly as broad as long, and have a drooping contour ; 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS, 89 

and the pinnules or segments are very variable in size and form, 
presenting the appearance of a complex head of foliage in which 
the lanceolate lobes or pinnules have the preponderancy." 

Panax Fruiticosm has a very graceful fern-like foliage. These 
plants belong to the Aralia family, a genus very ornamental, na- 
tives of the South Sea Islands. 

Another of my Washington collection, very graceful and beauti- 
ful, is Paulinia Thalictrifolia. Its delicate cut leaves resemble the 
fronds of a finely divided Maiden-hair Fern. The leaves are of a 
rich shade of green. The young shoots and foliage are of a pink- 
ish-brown color. It is of slender growth and climbing habit, very 
similar to Capsidium Filicifolium, which has long been a special 
favorite of mine. Both of these are elegant, trained on a pot trellis. 

Paulinia Thalictrifolia is a native of the southern Brazils, from 
whence it was introduced to the nurseries of Messrs. Veitch & 
Sons of Chelsea. If only required for decorative purposes there 
should be no inclination to make the plants produce flowers, which 
are inconspicuous ; therefore the main object should be to have 
plenty of healthy foliage. To secure this, the plant should be 
grown in a temperature of from 65 ° to 70 , and if one part of the 
greenhouse is more adapted to its growth than another, it is the 
dampest part. After this plant came into the possession of Messrs.. 
Veitch, and before its true value became known, some plants of it 
were placed in a corner of an old, very damp, warm pit, in which 
position they grew wonderfully strong, and quite surpassed in vigor 
and beauty those that were, as was then supposed, placed under 
more advantageous circumstances, i. e., in dryer and lighter parts 
of other houses. Care is therefore now taken to keep them where 
abundant atmospheric moisture can be supplied. A compost con- 
sisting of two parts good substantial peat and one of loam, together 
with some silver sand, suits it admirably. — Gardening Illustrated. 



90 TALKS AB OUT FLO WERS. 

CANNAS. 

These form a very important part of the class of which we are 
treating. They give a very beautiful and tropical appearance to 
the lawn and the garden by their stately growth and broad massive 
foliage, relieved by rich crimson, scarlet and orange-red flowers. 
Their foliage comprises various shades of green, glaucous, chocolate 
and purple tints, ribbed and striped, fitting them admirably for 
grouping with other plants. 

They are also very effective for large pot plants in the pleasure- 
ground, or conservatory. Under rich cultivation they will attain 
the height of five feet. They need water often. Among the 
newer roots Creole, very dark foliage, grows to the height of about 
six feet. Ornement dn Grand Rond, very tall, with large bronzy- 
green foliage, large scarlet flowers. Oriflamme has large lanceo- 
late-green leaves, with violet veins, a vigorous showy plant with 
salmon-orange flowers. 

The roots of Cannas must be taken up in the autumn. If wanted 
singly, divide them, if a thick clump is desirable let them be planted 
out as they are. They must be kept perfectly dry through the 
winter ; if the cellar is very damp they will do better packed in 
sand. 

DRACAENA. 

This is a valuable genus of ornamental plants, specially fine for 
the center of vases, and for pot culture. Although their culture is 
on the increase, they are not so frequently grown as they deserve. 
The species are very numerous, and are found in tropical countries, 
especially in the islands of the tropics. Many of them assume the 
proportions of trees. The largest specimen ever known was one 
of Dracaena Draco, or the Dragon tree of Oratava in Teneriffe, one 
of the Canary Islands. This tree was remarkable for its monstrous 
dimensions and prodigious longevity. About ten years since, or in 
the autumn of 1867, this magnificent specimen was destroyed by a 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 91 

gale of wind. It was a special object of interest in the Canary 
Islands, and received the attention and veneration of visitors, as do 
the great Seguvia trees of California. Its trunk below the lowest 
branches was eighty feet in height, and ten men holding hands 
could scarcely encircle it ; by one measurement this span around 
it was seventy-nine feet. The trunk was hollow, and in the interior 
was a winding stair-case, by which one might ascend as far as the 
part from which the branches sprang. It is affirmed by tradition 
that, when the island of Teneriffe was discovered in 1402, this tree 
was as large, and the cavity in the trunk as great, as at the time of 
its destruction. We are even assured that in the fifteenth century, 
at the time of the conquest of the Canaries by the Normans and 
Spaniards, they celebrated mass on a little altar erected in this 
cavity. From the slow growth of the young Dragon trees in the 
Canaries, it has been estimated that this monster tree before it was 
destroyed, was the oldest plant upon the globe. A writer in de- 
scribing it says : " Long leaves pointed like swords, crowned the 
extremities of the branches, and white panicles, which developed in 
autumn, threw a mantle of flowers upon this dome of verdure. " 
The popular name of this species is Dragon's-blood Tree, because 
of a resinous juice of a red color which exudes from the cracks in 
its trunk. At one time' this resin formed a considerable branch of 
commerce, as it was used medicinally as an astringent, but it has 
fallen into disuse. 

The Dracaenas belong to the Lily family, and they afford a re- 
markable contrast to the palms and other arborescent endogens, 
by their branching heads. The young trees of Dracaena Draco do 
not, however, send out any branches, even in their native localities, 
until they are thirty years old or more. The small plants of this 
species, cultivated for ornament, have always a single, straight 
stem ; but are much more robust, and quickly assume more stately 
proportions than those of the other kinds that will be mentioned. 



92 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

The Dracaena is admired for its peculiar grace of form — it would 
be in vain in common house culture to expect flowers. To ad- 
mire a plant for its well developed and graceful form, marks an 
advancement in refined taste beyond that which would induce one 
to exclaim, " Oh ! " at the sight of a brilliantly colored flower. 
Even in rearing a plant for flowers, the first object should be to 
develop it to the fullest extent in size and shape and strength — to 
make a beautiful object of the plant itself; just as the first and 
main attention given to a child, for years, should be to develop and 
build up its physical system. 

The Dracaena is a good house plant, a good balcony and veranda 
plant, good for the vase in the open air, and in a handsome pot is a 
fine ornament for table decoration. Its culture is of the simplest 
kind, adapting itself to any ordinarily good soil, it only requires to 
be supplied moderately with moisture and to have a temperature 
ranging upward from sixty-five degrees. It delights in a moist air, 
and whenever possible, water should be kept where it will rapidly 
evaporate, and thus ameliorate the atmosphere in this respect for 
the plant. This condition, moreover, is conducive to the well-being 
of most plants, and no good plant- grower can disregard it with im- 
punity. Washing the leaves and stem of the plant frequently with 
a wet sponge, is favorable to its health and vigor, and one of the 
best preventives of the attack of insects. With dust on the leaves 
the plants look dingy, while frequent washing keeps them bright 
and lustrous. 

Dracaena indivisa has long, slender, dark green leaves, about 
three-quarters of an inch or an inch in width, and from two and a 
half feet to three feet in length, and the lower ones especially are 
very much recurved or gracefully drooping. This species is among 
the hardiest of the Dracaenas, and is frequently wintered in the 
open ground, with some protection in climates where the tempera- 
ture frequently descends several degrees below the freezing point. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



93 



Dracaena terminalis is the most popular of the whole family in this 
country, and is worthy of all the admiration bestowed upon it. 
The leaves are broader and more erect than those of the preceding 
species, and of a dark green suffused with red, or having streaks of 
a reddish color ; the young leaves nearly pink, but assuming a dark 
bronzy copper color afterward. It is a very distinct and showy 
plant, and adapted to a great variety of ornamental purposes. The 
propagation and sale of it is rapidly increasing every year, and it is 
already widely disseminated. At the Sandwich Islands it is culti- 
vated to a considerable extent for its roots, which are baked and 
eaten. A fermented beverage is also made from the juice, and its 
leaves are employed as fodder for cattle, and for clothing and other 
domestic purposes. 

Dracaena Shepherdii is of a most noble form, and is one of the 
finest yet in cultivation. It has long, spreading leaves, of a metallic 
green, with stripes and border of bronzy-orange, and is a very free 
grower. Unlike most of the forms already known, which color 
most on the free young growth of vigorous plants, this plant takes 
on its distinctive coloring gradually on the older leaves. 

Dracaena cannaefolia is an interesting species. Its peculiarity 
consists in the length of petiole, which is as long as the rest of the 
leaf. The blade of the leaf is elliptical in form, from fifteen to 
twenty inches in length, firm, and of a glaucous green. 

Within a few years past much attention has been given by culti- 
vators in Great Britain and Europe to hybridizing the Dracaena, 
and producing new varieties. The most remarkable success has 
attended the efforts in this direction, of Mr. Bause, in the estab- 
lishment of Mr. Wills, of Anerly, England. The variety is won- 
derful — "broad-leaved, medium -leaved and narrow-leaved; bronzy 
and green, crimson, rose, pink, violet and white variegations ; 
drooping, spreading, and erect habits, are blended in all sorts of 
combinations." 



94 TALKS AB OUT FLO WERS. 

One of the sorts produced is described as " a most important ac- 
quisition, having quite the habit and character of the well-known 
favorite terminalis, but with white variegation. The ground color 
is a bright green, with bold, white variegation, the upper leaves 
being white, with here and there a bar of green." — Vick's Magazine. 

DRACAENA GOLDIANA. 

Sent out in this country for the first time in 1880, is said to be 
" one of the most magnificent ornamental foliage plants ever intro- 
duced, and altogether unique in character and aspect. It is a na- 
tive of Western Tropical Africa. The plant is of erect habit, and 
the stems are closely set with stalked spreading leaves, the petioles 
of which are of a grayish color, terete with a narrow furrow along 
the upper side, the base being dilated and sheathing the stem. 
The blade of leaf is marbled and irregularly banded with dark green 
and silver gray in alternate straight bands, the colors being about 
equally distributed. The back of the unfolded leaves is a pale 
reddish-purple or wine color, and the stem, where visible. It is, 
without doubt, one of the most superb of ornamental stove plants." 

When first sent out in London in 1878, its price was from five to 
ten guineas per plant. We do not know the price in this country. 
Mr. H. A. Dreerwho has an illustration of it in his catalogue, fur- 
nishes the price only on application, which is evidence that it is 
costly. From the type given, it must be exceedingly handsome, 
and wholly unlike any Dracaena before offered in America. 

Dracaenas, as we have noticed before, are particularly desirable 
house plants, keeping in good condition for a long time, even in 
rooms where gas is burned — places so unsuited to most plants. 
They are liable to attacks of the Mealy Bug and the Red Spider if 
neglected, but the syringing and sponging advised for them will 
effectually prevent their gaining a foothold if frequently and thor- 
oughly performed. After a year or two the plants begin to lose 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 95 

their lower leaves, and to get leggy, a state of things quite unde- 
sirable, as the beauty and effectiveness of the plants depend upon 
their being furnished with leaves down to the base of the stem. 
When the plants have become unsightly from the loss of their 
leaves, they can be renewed very quickly by a simple process. Cut 
a notch in the stem, on one side, just below the lowest good leaves, 
and take out a piece of the wood, then do the same on the other 
side of the stem, but not exactly opposite the first notch. The 
object is to check the flow of sap at this point and yet allow enough 
of it to pass to maintain the head. Having cut the notches, take 
some moss or sphagnum and bind about the stem, covering the 
incisions and fastening it on securely with twine or fine wire ; the 
moss is to be kept gently moist, and in the course of two weeks 
will have thrown out young roots above the notches. The head 
can now be severed from the stem and potted in a medium-sized 
pot. After keeping it a few days in the shade, it can be gradually 
brought out into the full light, and will be found to be established. 

Dracaenas may also be multiplied by removing the thick, fleshy 
root that may usually be found in the base of the plant. Those 
tuberous roots can be potted, and if kept in a warm place will soon 
start and make new plants. When plants are re-potted a favorable 
opportunity is offered for taking off these roots, for the roots of 
the old 'plants are actively at work and, with the fresh soil they 
receive, will soon recover from any slight check they may have 
received. 

The most rapid method of propagating this plant is by cuttings of 
the stem ; the stem may be cut into pieces an inch in length, and 
those pieces split in two, and all of those bits will root and become 
plants. They should be placed in a light, sandy soil, and given a 
brisk bottom heat of yo° or 8o° degrees. They will break and start 
into growth in a few days. — Vick's Magazine. 

So fully does the foregoing express all that is needful regarding 



96 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



the Dracaena, we have thought best to give it entire. We might 
greatly enlarge on the subject of Ornamental Foliage Plants, and 
speak of the beautiful Palms, so fine for decorative purposes, the 
pretty Ferns and elegant Aralias, of which latter " Sieboldi is a 
capital house plant, so enduring that it will live and keep its beau- 
tiful dark green color for weeks almost in the dark. " Then there 
is the Euonymus, so bright with its glossy green leaves, long a 
favorite whether for the border or window garden. Argentea has 
striped foliage, and Japonicas aurea has its dark green foliage 
diversified with golden variegations. Bicolor, foliage almost white, 
and Tricolor, a rarer form, is marked with pink and white. 

With the numerous varieties we have named, it will be apparent 
how ornamental our gardens, whether within doors or without, may 
be made by plants, the beauty of which is wholly independent of 
flowers, and they do wonderfully enhance the effect of the bloomers. 
The Centaureas and Cinerarias with their deeply lobed leaves of 
white, are two well known to need any special mention. We do 
not intend however to pass so lightly over another stately and 
highly ornamental genus that comes within the reach of everyone. 
Ricinus, the seed of which can be purchased for a dime, are mag- 
nificent in foliage, and when combined with the brilliant colored 
fruit of the giant varieties, the effect is very oriental. Ricinus 
Africanus albidus is of recent introduction. It is white* fruited, 
and the stems and leaves are silvery; height eight feet. Bor- 
baniensis arborens has very large and showy foliage ; height fifteen 
feet. Communis is the Castor Oil Plant. Sanguineus (Obermanii) 
bears splendid red fruit in clusters, and is very ornamental. A 
species from Philippines has gigantic foliage ; height ten feet. 
These can be purchased in separate or mixed packets, and we 
advise everyone who has a bit of ground to try them. We will 
close with 



TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 97 

A BIG BEAN STORY. 

I have just harvested my Ricinus or Castor Bean, which I raised 
from the seed you sent me last spring. It was of mammoth growth, 
attaining a height of fourteen and a half feet, and sixteen feet 
across the branches of which there were seventeen after cutting 
off five' during the summer. Each of the branches contained a 
cluster of burs, the center one having one hundred and thirty-four 
burs, the other branches not so many. Many of the leaves measured 
from thirty to thirty-two inches across from tip to tip or point of 
leaves. When sawed off at the ground, the body measured five 
inches and a half of wood in diameter, inside of the bark, which 
was one-fourth of an inch thick. This is a big bean story but nev- 
ertheless a true one. — t. g. t. in Vick's Magazine, 




|T is an old adage that one must take Time by the forelock. 
In the culture of flowers, we must certainly do so, planning 
and preparing in spring for the coming winter, if we would 
secure for ourselves plants that can be relied on for bloom- 
ing. * We know of none equal to 

THE CHINESE PRIMROSE, 

for common house culture, commencing to flower usually in No- 
vember, and continuing through the spring months. The seed for 
this ought to be sown in April — if later the plants will not come 
into bloom so early. The soil for Primroses in all stages should 
be fine, light and rich, with a good mixture of sand. 

For seed sowing it can be put in pans, boxes or six inch pots. 
First, put in drainage — I use for this coarse sand — then the coarse 
siftings of the soil. On this to the depth of one and a half or two 
inches, put the fine mixed soil, press down smoothly and spray 
lightly with tepid water. Sow the seed on the surface, and sift on 
enough of the fine earth to partially but not fully cover them. 
Cover with a glass, or with a bit of soft nice flannel, and place in 
the shade where a mild moist temperature can be attained. Where 
flannel is used, it can be kept damp and thus impart moisture to 
the seeds without their being saturated, washed bare, or displaced 
by spraying. When the seed has germinated, then glass can be 
substituted. The tender seedlings must be gradually brought to 
the sunlight ; too long exposure at first would kill them, and if kept 
in the shade too much they will become drawn and dwarfed. This 
is the critical period, and many fail at this point. Great care is 
essential till the plants put forth the third leaf, which is rough and 
the true primula leaf. Then the plants must be carefully trans- 

(98) 



TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 99 

planted into other pots prepared as before. In about a month the 
glass can be removed and the plants potted separately, setting them 
low, as it is a peculiarity of the Primula to stretch itself up out of 
the soil, and become shaky. It is necessary sometimes to give 
them support. In watering, care must be had to prevent the water 
lodging in the axils of the leaves, which cause them to decay. They 
will not bear showering like smooth surfaced plants, and only occa- 
sionally should they be sprayed through a fine hose. They must 
be kept during the summer months in a shady place, and have a 
cool bottom to stand on ; a cold frame is the best. They must be 
housed by the end of September, and the best situation for them is 
a light, airy shelf near the glass, yet not exposed to intense sun- 
shine. They do not like frequent changes of position and temper- 
ature, nor to be grown with other plants. Give them a cool place 
where they will have the morning or afternoon sun for a time. 
During the blossoming season stimulate the soil once a week with 
liquid manure, or water with a few drops of ammonia added. Pick 
off all flowers as fast as they fade. Plants are stronger and better 
the second year, and unless they get too shaky, are good for three 
years. They must, after blossoming, be taken out of the pot, the 
ball of earth reduced from the roots, and then re-potted in fresh 
soil. It is not needful to keep them dormant and shaded through 
the summer, but in a cool and partially secluded position, they will 
after a brief rest begin to grow, putting forth frequently little crowns 
all around about the old one, and be full of blossoms during the 
autumn and winter months. The double varieties are not so easily 
grown, and cannot be recommended for general culture to be raised 
from seed. Fine plants can be procured from the florists, but the 
large single sorts, we think give the most satisfaction. Ellis Broth- 
ers, Keene, N. H., have sent us for trial, packets of very fine strains ; 
some are rare, and, j udging from the description, must be very beau- 
tiful. It is not often that we find more than four varieties named in 



100 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



the catalogues. They send out a dozen sorts, some of which we 
will name : Primula Fimbriata Kermesina Splendens ; Large 
flowers, brilliant velvet like crimson, yellow eye. Primula Frim- 
briata Ptmctata Elegantissima ; a new variety ; flower velvety crim- 
son, edge spotted with white ; very distinct. Primula Fimbriata 
Striata; beautifully striped. Primula Fringed, Fern Leaf ; pure 
white, with large citron eye; very fine. Primula Globosa, new; 
a large flowering, fringed sort ; petals large and many of them 
crimped, each overlapping the other, so that they appear almost 
semi-double; colors white, light pink, crimson and lilac pink. All 
of these can be bought in mixed or separate packets. We cannot 
find room for all of these, but hope from the rarest to obtain some 
fine plants to brighten our room the coming winter. Great ad- 
vances have been made since the Primrose was introduced into 
this country little more than half a century ago. 

Of the novelties we find in 
the London Garden special men- 
tion made of Primula Sinensis 
Fimbriata Alba Magnifica. The 
writer says : " The Primulas 
from Mr. B. S. Williams' Victo- 
ria Nurseries, Holloway, were 
remarkably fine. The newest 
sort shown, Alba Magnifica, 
promises to be an excellent kind ; 
the flowers are large, produced 
in dense and many flowered 
trusses, borne well above the foliage, which is also remarkable being 
elegantly crisped at the margins. The color is white, the purity of 
which, however, is more strongly marked when the plants are more 
mature than those shown ; the habit of growth is very robust." 
Of this novelty Mr. H. Cannell says : "The new white Primula 







TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 101 

is of exquisite form and substance; the plants are exceedingly 
compact, with deeply indented leaves of a light green color ; the 
flowers measure two and one-quarter inches in diameter, pure 
white, with large, bright yellow eye, each petal being deeply and 
beautifully fringed, and are borne in large trusses well above the 
foliage." 

We give an illustration of this Primula, kindly furnished by Ellis 
Bros., who are of the first to offer it in this country. 

CARNATIONS AND PICOTEES. 

" What is the difference between them ? I am told differently by 
nearly every florist I ask. An old Englishman told me the other 
day that he used to grow great quantities of them in England, and 
that the difference between the two is, that the Picotee has fringed 
edged leaves, while in the Carnation proper the edge of the leaf is 
smooth like a rose." 

The question is asked of Mr. Vick, and he thus replies : " The 
Carnation and Picotee differ only in the arrangement of the color, 
or markings. The distinction is made by florists, and is of course 
arbitrary. Seeds saved from one plant, may produce both Carna- 
tions and Picotee, or even from the same seed-pod. In an old work 
in our possession, the distinction is as stated, but for long years 
any flower with an irregular edge has been considered unworthy 
of propagation. The Carnation should have broad stripes of color 
running through from the center to the edge of the petals. The 
Picotee has only a band of color on the edge of each petal." — VicHs 
Magazine. 

'Although Mr. Vick here states that the Carnation should have 
broad stripes of color, neither he, nor any other florist makes this 
distinction, but call pure white, and pure red Carnations, just as 
freely as those that are striped. 

There are two classes of Carnations, and thousands of varieties. 
The class of Perpetual Bloomers are called Monthly and Tree Car- 



102 TALKS. ABOUT FLOWERS. 

nations. The Garden Carnations are hardy, and can be left in the 
garden during winter by giving them a covering of leaves, straw, or 
evergreen boughs. They are easily raised from seed. Sown in 
June or July, will make good robust plants before frost, which will 
bloom the following summer. Some of them will be single, per- 
haps, and these can be removed. Those of superior merit may be 
multiplied by layering. This method is to select good healthy 
shoots that have not bloomed, and make a cut midway between two 
joints. First cut half way through the shoot, then make a slit 
lengthwise to a joint. Remove the earth a few inches in depth, 
and press the branch down so that this slit will open, and then 
cover with the soil. Roots will form where the cut was made, and 
thus a new plant will be formed, which can be removed in the au- 
tumn or spring. Midsummer is the best time to do this, and by 
adopting this method good, healthy plants are secured. The plants 
should be well watered a day or two before layering is commenced, 
and immediately afterward— then only occasionally. They are fre- 
quently propagated by cuttings, which can be rooted in wet sand, 
or in light sandy soil. 

PERPETUAL BLOOMERS, 

Or Monthly Carnations, can be easily obtained of the florists 
for summer or winter blooming ; the former purchased in the 
spring, and the latter in the autumn. If one raises their own 
stock, it is not best to allow those to bloom much during the sum- 
mer that are wanted for winter flowering. It is well to sink the pots 
in a good sunny place in the garden, and when they run up and 
show signs of bedding, cut back the stalk so that it may become 
more compact and branchy, then the buds in the late autumn or 
winter, will be much more numerous. The best for winter bloom- 
ing are La Purite (carmine), President de Graw (white), Peerless 
(white, striped with pink) and Peter Henderson, of the well-known 
varieties. Of those of recent introduction, Lady Emma is said to 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 103 

be excellent. One florist says that "it is destined to be one of the 
leading winter-blooming Carnations. From my bed of one thous- 
and plants in the green-house throughout December and January 
last, I plucked more blooms than from any other variety occupying 
the same space." It has proved excellent also for a bedding pink. 
Its color is a rare shade of crimson scarlet ; the flower is of medium 
size, full and double, and never bursting down the side. Lord Clyde 
has for three years proved to be an excellent winter bloomer. It is 
of a very robust growth, like its parent the Edwardsii, but of a more 
dwarf, low-flowering habit. The ground-work is white, thickly 
striped with carmine, and a frequent blotch of maroon ; very florif- 
erous, each stem bearing from six to eight flowerets. Lydia is 
another of the recent novelties, and is very handsome. Flowers 
very large and intensely double, of a rich rosy, orange color blotched 
and flecked with carmine. Crimson King is one of the largest 
Carnations, very full, bushy habit, and robust, color crimson-scarlet. 
A pure bright scarlet is rare ; when therefore, Firebrand, a novelty 
of 1880, was announced as a bright scarlet, it produced quite a sen- 
sation. It is very highly commended by those who have seen it. 
Grace Wilder, Princess Louise and Fred "Johnson, are new hybrid 
seedlings now offered for the first time to the public. 

There was quite a discussion in the Gardener s Monthly of last 
year as to the best pure White Carnation. In the August number, 
Mr. E. Fryer of Delaware writes : "The varieties called Peter Hend- 
erson, sent out by Nanz and Neuner I have found to be the best 
white I have yet grown for winter bloom. It is a stronger and 
better bloomer than de Graw, its only drawback being that it runs 
up high like La Purite. Snowdon is a true dwarf, pure white, and 
if it proves a good winter bloomer, will probably supersede all other 
whites, the flower being of fair size and very fragrant. Bock's 
Seedling, Charles Sumner, I have grown the past winter. The 
flower is of an enormous size, but it invariably bursts before open- 



104 TALKS ABO UT FLOWERS. 

ing, and is a dull unattractive color. Waverly I have also grown 
last winter — a splendid variety, rich crimson scarlet ; the color was 
no way exaggerated as represented in the Monthly a year ago ; 
produces a fair average of flowers to the plant, flowers selling readily 
at ten cents each. I think this the most useful color to the com- 
mercial florist. 

I still cling to the old carmine La Purite, which for quantity of 
bloom, size of flower and general good qualities, I think has not 
been beat by any of the newer varieties for winter bloom. " Mr. 
Peter Henderson, one of the leading florists, places Snowdon 
above all other white Carnations, its dwarf habit making it spe- 
cially desirable. 

Florist's Pinks are more dwarf than the Carnations, flowers very 
double, clove scented, and are of various shades of maroon, carmine, 
crimson and rose interlaced with white. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLORIST'S PINK. 

The Gardener s Chronicle gives the following interesting account 
of the origin of this class: "It may be interesting to record the 
fact, published in an old number of the Floricultural Cabinet, that 
the first Pink worthy of notice was raised in the year 1772, by 
Mr. James Major who was then gardener to the duchess of Lan- 
caster ; previous to that there were but four sorts, and those of very 
little note, being cultivated as only common border flowers. Mr. 
Major having saved some seed in 1771, he reared several plants, 
which, blooming the next season, one of the number proved to be a 
double flower with laced petals, at which he was agreeably sur- 
prised, although he considered it as being only in embryo, and the 
prelude to still further advance to be developed at some future 
period, which is now verified by the rapid strides this beautiful 
flower made in size and quality during the years which followed. 
Mr. Major informed the writer of the foregoing remarks that he 
made his discovery known to a nurseryman or florist and was 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 105 

offered the sum of ten guineas for the stock of his new Pink ; but, 
acting on the advice of his friends, he declined to sell, and set to 
work instead and increased the stock with a view of offering it in 
sale to the public. It was sent out to the public at half a guinea a 
pair (for it has long been a custom of offering Pinks in pairs, a 
custom which is continued to this day), under the name of Major's 
Duchess of Lancaster, the orders for which amounted to £80. It 
is recorded that one individual ordered as many as twenty pairs, 
which was considered in those days an unusually large number. It 
would he interesting to have a bloom of Duchess of Lancaster to 
compare with the fine double varieties of the present day. We 
appear to have come to something like a pause in the matter of 
Pink production as the flowers are now very large and full, and the 
lacing is as perfect as can well be conceived. " 

DIANTHUS. 

The word is derived from the Greek words Dios, divine, and 
Anthos, a flower ; God's flower, or the flower of Jove. There are 
several species, and many varieties of Dianthus ; Dianthus Caryo- 
phyllus is what is commonly known as the Clove Pink, and from it 
have been produced the double varieties called Carnations and Pi- 
cotees. The plant in its wild state is found growing on the south 
side of the Swiss Alps, at a low altitude, where the winters are not 
severe. The common perennial garden Pink is Dianthus Plumarias, 
The old and well-known Chinese Pink, Dianthus Chinensis, is a 
biennial, flowering the first season from seed sown in spring, lives 
during the winter, blooms the second year, and then dies. New 
and superb varieties have been introduced of late years from Japan, 
and Dianthus Laciniatus, and Dianthus Heddewigii, both single 
and double, make a splendid display, and are among the most de- 
sirable of our garden flowers. Dianthus Diadematus is of dwarf 
habit, very profuse in blooming, and the flowers are of various hues, 
from white to dark maroon, and also beautifully marbled and spot- 



106 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

ted. Of the recent novelties Eastern Queen and Crimson Belle are 
superb ; we speak from personal knowledge. " Eastern Queen " is 
beautifully marbled ; the broad bands of rich mauve upon the paler 
surface of the petals are very striking. " Crimson Belle," as its 
name implies, is of a rich crimson hue, with dark markings ; very 
large and finely fringed. 

For early blooming it is well to sow seed as early as April. June 
sowing will secure good hardy plants for the following season. 
When there is a profusion of bloom, it is well to remove a portion 
of the flowers, so that the plants may not become exhausted, and 
the seed pods beyond what are desired for ripening, ought also to 
be cut off. 




If §al% JffeDtfl f llf|ftff|t 

Oh, a dainty plant is the Ivy green, 

That creepeth o'er ruins old ! 
Of right choice food are his meals I ween, 

In his cell so lone and cold, 
The wall must be crumbled, the stone decayed, 

To pleasure his dainty whim ; 
And the moldering dust that years have made a 
Is a merry meal for him. 

Creeping where no life is seen, 
A rare old plant is the Ivy green. 

Charles Dickens. 

; AVE been off on a vacation, peering into other folks' gar- 
dens and admiring other people's flowers. Visited the 
Public Garden of Boston and saw that there had been a 
marked improvement within ten years. The massed beds 
of several sorts, with their contrasting borders, were very attrac- 
tive, specially the maroon Coleuses with border of Centaurea. 
There were few varieties of Geraniums, and these were mostly 
massed in beds, some all scarlet, others wholly pink. 

At Forest Hills Cemetery there was the finest display of flowers 
and tropical plants I ever saw, and they are very artistically and 
tastefully displayed. I saw several beds with artistic designs on a 
ground work of Sempervivum, evidencing great skill in the arrange- 
ment and culture. The entrance gateway to Forest Hills Cemetery 
is very beautiful in design, and here we saw that graceful climber 
Ampeclopsis Veitchii, in the perfection of its beauty, covering the 
front almost entirely. I had noted it in various stages of growth, 
clinging to the dwellings in all parts of the city, requiring no aid 
but its own little rootlets. It is a native of Japan and was intro- 

(107) 



108 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

duced in this country twelve years ago. It was slow at first in 
being duly appreciated, but now is widely known and extensively 
propagated. Probably the finest plant is owned by Mr. George L. 
Conover of Geneva, N. Y. It covers the entire front of his two- 
story square house, and has become so famous that horticulturists 
from all parts of the country have been attracted by it, and a great 
many people have visited Geneva for the special purpose of seeing 
this fine plant. It has proved to be perfectly hardy, only the first 
year the young and tender plant needs some protection during the 
winter. Florists are growing them in great quantities to meet the 
increasing demand. It can be obtained for twenty cents. I re- 
ceived a small plant last year and kept it in my window box during 
the winter. It died down, however, and I quite forgot about it, till 
it sprang forth anew in April. Since putting it in the ground it 
has grown rapidly, and I shall value it now more than ever. 

HONEYSUCKLE. 

The Golden-Leaved Honeysuckle is a special favorite of mi ne. Its 
leaves are so netted and veined with yellow as to give this hu e the 
predominance. The foliage is small ; the flowers are yellow and 
fragrant. The family of Lonicems, or Honeysuckle, embraces a 
.large variety. The botanical name was given in honor of Lonicer, 
a German botanist, who died about three hundred years ago. 

Lonicems Holliana was introduced into this country from Japan 
by Dr. Hall. The flowers are pure white when they first open, but 
assume a creamy tinge in a few days. This variety blooms almost 
continuously from June till frost. It attains sometimes to the height 
of twenty, and even thirty feet. The flowers are very fragrant. 

Belgian, or Monthly Fragrant, bears its blossoms in clusters. 
They are pure white in the interior at first, but afterward change 
to creamy yellow, deepening into orange. 

Sempervirens (Scarlet Trumpet) is a native of this country, and 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 109 

perfectly hardy. This is the most common, though not fragrant. 
It is a strong grower, and blooms from June to November. Its 
scarlet flowers tinged with orange afford a pleasing contrast with 
its dark, glossy foliage. 

CANARY BIRD FLOWER. 

For an out-door annual climber, what can be prettier than the 
dainty, graceful Canary Flower ? Mine have scorned the limitations 
of the twine I had fastened to the lower limbs of a small pear tree 
and ascending far above them, have run out a full yard on a large 
branch. The light green, finely lacinated foliage is very handsome 
of itself, but when the Canary bird flower is added, how lovely it 
is ! It is so easily grown from seed that I wonder so few have it. 
A paper costing only ten cents would give you a score of plants, 
and they are much prettier for the bay window than Madeira vines. 

A writer from England says : "While in the north of England, 
last fall, we paid a visit to Ainwick Castle, the seat of the Duke of 
Northumberland, and the ancient home of the Percy family. . . . 
The first thing that struck me on entering the town was a bay win- 
dow most charmingly draped with light green climbers, and literally 
covered with bright lemon yellow flowers. Now this appeared so 
strange to me (for the chilly night air had already affected the- 
geraniums and other tender out-door plants), that I had to cross 
the street, take the Yankee liberty to open the gate, go inside and 
examine this thrifty beauty. I confess I was not only surprised but 
greatly interested to find it was only the Canary flower, Tropaeolum 
peregrinum, a member of the Nasturtium family, and I concluded at 
once that there should be one cottage in America next summer 
worth coming miles to see on account of its climbing plants of light 
green foliage and rich yellow masses of Canary bird flower. " — wal- 
-ton, in Vick's Magazine. 

Do not forget to include this pretty vine in your seed order next 
year. 



110 TALKS ABO UT FL WERS* 

COBCEA SCANDENS. 

This is one of the best of our climbing annuals, on account of its 
rapid and luxuriant growth, attractive foliage and large bell-shaped 
flowers. Under favorable circumstances they will grow to the 
height of twenty and even thirty feet in a summer. They com- 
mence to bloom when quite young, and continue in bloom until 
destroyed by frost. Some people remove them from the border to 
fhe house for winter blooming, but the change from out-door to in- 
door life, often retards their growth and mars their beauty. They 
are too cumbersome for window plants after having grown during 
the season, and it is better to sow seed in August, and get in this 
way plants for the house. They are hard to germinate, and need 
to be started in pots or in a hot bed. Place them in moist earth 
edge down, and do not water until the young plants appear above 
the surface, unless the earth becomes very dry. 

For out-door blooming sow in March or April. As soon as the 
plants are strong enough, transplant to three-inch pots ; keep them 
shaded from the sun for a few days, gradually expose to the open 
air, and plant out when all danger from frost is over. The soil 
should be well stirred to the depth of nearly two feet, and well 
rotted manure worked in. In dry weather they need liberal water- 
ing as often as once a week, and liquid manure water occasionally 
is of great benefit to them. 

The Coboea can be propagated by layers at almost any season 
of the year. It is done in this way : Cut a notch near a joint, 
place in a pot and fill with soil, and keep the soil moist. It takes 
from two weeks to a month for them to root. 

A writer says of this plant : " The Coboea is an old favorite 
and it is worthy of remark that but few of the novelties introduced 
of late years can equal some of the old favorites that we have been 
accustomed to grow. The Coboea is a native of Mexico, from 
which country it was introduced in 1792. It was named in honor 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. Ill 

of Bernandez Cobo, a Spanish priest and botanist. The growth Tof 
the vine is very luxuriant, and it is equally easy of cultivation, the 
only essentials to success being warmth, a rich, light soil, and suf- 
ficient water. If allowed to become very dry, it will soon wither 
away. It requires sun and a warm room to grow it to perfection ; 
yet it is not a tender plant, that is, it will live anywhere, provided 
the frost does not touch it, and is one of the few plants which will 
flourish luxuriantly in parlors lighted with gas and kept almost at 
fever heat. If grown in a hanging basket or pot, it must be large 
and the roots allowed plenty of room to spread out in. In the sum- 
mer the pots can be removed from the interior room to a balcony 
or piazza, or plunged until they are again wanted. Then clip off 
the growth of branches and leaves, place the pot back again in a 
sunny window, where it will soon start afresh, with new arms and 
leaves to cover the window. It is one of the best vines for parlor 
decoration, as it will drape and festoon the window, and stretch 
forth its tendrils, running up even to the ceiling. The tendrils are 
so clinging in their nature that they will attach themselves to any- 
thing which comes within their reach — curtain cords, branches of 
other plants, brackets, etc., — throwing out new branches everywhere. 

" I advise all who adopt the plan of plunging the plant in the 
pot in the open air during the summer, either to shift into a pot 
two sizes larger, or else to take it out of the pot and reduce the 
ball of earth nearly one-half, and repot it in fresh compost before 
removing it to the house. This should be done not later than Sep- 
tember ioth. The plants will amply repay this little attention by 
an increased luxuriance of both foliage and flowers during the win- 
ter months, while plants not so treated will become sickly and un- 
healthy before spring, and beside, when pot-bound, they soon be- 
come the prey of numerous insects." 

There are several varieties of the Cobcea, though scandens is the 
most generally known. The large bell-shaped flowers are greenish 



112 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

at first, but rapidly change to a dull purple. Coboea Scandens Alba 
has greenish white flowers. Coboea variegata is one of the most mag- 
nificent ornamental climbers, the leaves being broadly margined 
with yellowish white, the variegated foliage forming a beautiful con- 
trast with its large purple flowers. It is of strong habit, a rapid 
grower, attaining frequently the height of fifty feet in a short time. 
It is, however, difficult of propagation, rooting with difficulty. The 
seeds vegetate as readily as the common sort, but the plants are 
apt to die off soon after attaining their seed leaves. Layering in 
the manner already specified, is the best method of increase. 

Cobcea scandens argentea is another variegated leaved variety, 
differing from variegata in that its leaves are of a purer white. It is 
described by some as being identical with Cobcea scandens, Schue- 
rens Seedling, but by Messrs. Leeds & Co., of Richmond, Indiana, 
as being "a great improvement on the old variegated variety. 
Leaves large, green, bordered with creamy white ; calyx of the 
flowers variegated like the leaves." 

CLEMATIS. 

Clematis ( Virgins Bower), derives its name from klema, a vine- 
branch. The popular name, Virgin's Bower, was given to Clematis 
Viticella upon its introduction into England during the reign of 
Elizabeth, 1569, and was intended as a compliment to that sover- 
eign, who liked to be called the Virgin Queen. 

There are, it is said, two hundred and thirty described species, 
the majority of them free-growing, hardy climbers. They are 
among the most gorgeous perpetual-blooming of the class under 
consideration. Great improvements have been made during the 
past twenty-five years by hybridization, but the finest varieties 
have originated within ten years. Of the new English hybrids 
yackmanii stands in the front rank. The flowers are from five to 
six inches in diameter, and consist of from four to six sepals which 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS, 113 

have a ribbed bar down the center ; the color is of an intense vio- 
let-purple, remarkable for its velvety richness, and a shading of red- 
dish-purple toward the base, and they are furnished with a broad cen - 
tral tuft of pale green stamens. It originated with Jackman & Son, 
England, and was first exhibited at Kensington, 1872. It is a 
cross between Clematis Viticella and Clematis Lannginasa. From 
this cross many excellent seedlings have been raised, closely re- 
sembling the parent stock in color and general character. 

Of Jackman's Clematises the English Gardener has the follow- 
ing : " They are magnificent ; and more than this, they do give us 
some of the grandest things in the way of creepers the horticultural 
world has ever seen, making glorious ornaments either for walls, 
verandas, or rustic poles or pillars, varying in color from deep rich 
violet hue to dark velvety maroon, and in the newer seedlings, 
forms beautifnl shades of pale bright blue." 

Mr. Vick says of the Clematis : " Having a rather unsightly pile 
of stones in the back part of our grounds, we had them thrown to- 
gether more in the form of a stone-heap, perhaps, than of anything 
worthy of the name of rockery, and planted Jackmanii and other 
fine sorts in the crevices, and for three summers this stone-heap 
has been covered most gorgeously. Thousands of flowers, in fact 
a mound of flowers, every day for months, has been the delight of 
visitors, causing one to exclaim, 'Nothing since Paradise has been 
more beautiful.' " 

These fine hybrids will endure our Northern winters' if somewhat 
protected. A gentleman in Rochester, N. Y., had a Jackmanii 
which bore full exposure without protection and came out in the 
spring uninjured to the height of nine feet. The extremities of the 
shoots for about two feet were winter-killed. 

Clematis Sieboldii is a native of Japan, whence it was introduced 
by Mr. Low in 1837. It is of a slender free-growing habit. " The 
flowers which are produced from July to September are composed 
8 



m 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



of six ovate sepals of a creamy white color, which form a fine back- 
ground for the large rosette of purple stamens which occupy the 
center and render the flowers particularly attractive. " 

Clematis graveolins is a native of the mountains of Thibet. It 
is of comparative recent introduction. The flowers are produced on 
long stalks at the axils of the leaves, and are of a light yellow — an 
unusual color in this genus. It grows to the height of from ten to 
fifteen feet, and blooms freely during the entire season. 

A lady writes to Vick's Magazine that she has a Clematis graveo- 
lins which is a wonderful sight. It grew from a feeble plant planted 
out in spring, two inches in height, into a column twelve feet high 
and three feet broad by August, and was a mass of yellow blossoms, 
and then, of the most exquisite, long-haired, silvery seed pods until 
hard frost. It lived through the winter, to its extreme tips, and 
then grew so rapidly, shading such an important part of her garden, 
that she had to remove it in the autumn, cutting it back severely. 
The seedlings from it grow, she adds, to eight or ten feet in a 
season. 

Clematis crispa is of Southern origin ; the flowers are one and a 
half inches long, produced singly on long stalks, and delightfully fra- 
grant, a rapid grower, and perfectly hardy. Clematis coccinea is of 
recent introduction from Texas, the flowers are bell-shaped, of a most 
brilliant scarlet, and are produced in great abundance. This rare 
variety is offered only by Woolson & Co., Passaic Falls, N. J., who 
make a specialty of hardy herbaceous plants. Vesta, a Jackman, is 
large and of fine form ; dead white, with a creamy tinge over the 
center bar, delicate primrose fragrance, an early bloomer. Mrs. 
yames Bateman, pale lavender, and Thomas Moore, violet, superb, 
are Jackman seedlings, which flower in the summer and autumn, 
successionally, in masses, on summer shoots. These are all high 
priced. Many fine sorts can be purchased at prices ranging from 
thirty cents to one dollar. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS, 



115 



The Clematis requires only ordinary garden soil. Where there 
are severe winters it is best to give the young plants at least some 
protection. They can be propagated by layering, which is rather 
a slow method, or rapidly by seed. 

WISTARIA. 

Very beautiful among the hard-wooded Climbers, is the Chinese 
Wistaria when in bloom. Its long, pendulous racemes of blue 
flowers are exceedingly graceful. They are frequently twelve inches 
in length and highly fragrant. The flowers appear about the last 
of May and first of June. It is not a continuous bloomer like the 
Clematis, but often gives a few flowers in August. It is rather 
slow at first, but after getting a good start the second or third year 
grows very rapidly. It is hardy after it gets strong, but young 
plants need some protection. 

The Chinese White Wistaria was introduced by Mr. Fortune, 
and is regarded as a great acquisition. The Double Purple is illus- 
trated in Ellwanger & Barry's Catalogue, by a full page engraving, 
which gives one an idea of its beauty better than the description 
which is as follows : " A rare and charming variety, with perfectly 
double flowers, deeper in color than the single, and with racemes 
of remarkable length. The plant is perfectly hardy, resembling 
Wistaria Sinensis, so well known as one of our best climbing plants. 
The stock which we offer was purchased of Mr. Parkman, who 
received this variety from Japan in 1863, and was the first to bloom 
and exhibit it in this country. " 

White American Wistaria is a seedling originating with Messrs. 
Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, N. Y. Flowers clear white; 
bushes short. Free bloomer. 

CHINESE WISTARIA AS A STANDARD. 

A novelty has been offered to the horticultural public of London 
this spring (1880), in the shape of standard trees of Wistaria Sin-- 



116 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

ensis, raised in tubs, having heads five or six feet in diameter and 
covered with clusters of bloom. The plants were raised in Rouen, 
France, and sent to London for sale. It requires several years to 
attain plants of good size in this style, and as a matter of profit, a 
strict account would no doubt show a balance on the wrong side. 
In this country where the Wistaria is " at home, " it may be raised 
in tree-shape in the open ground without expense, save the neces- 
sary care in pinching in and shaping. " So completely did the plants 
offered in London strike the popular taste, that there was quite a 
competition to become purchasers of them, and large sums were 
offered by those anxious to possess them. The general public, 
unaccustomed to this fine Chinese climber, looked on with wonder 
at " Lilacs " of such unwonted size and beauty of color. — Vicfrs 
Magazine. 

Mr. Vick evidently does not deem this method an improvement 
on the natural graceful climber, for it reminds him* of an anecdote 
which he thus relates in reply to an inquirer respecting the Wista- 
ria as a standard. 

'•'Once upon a time some kind of a steam cannon was invented, 
and a day of trial was arranged at Portsmouth, England, to which 
the Lords of the Admiralty and the Duke of Wellington were in- 
vited. After the exhibition, which we believe was somewhat suc- 
cessful, opinions of its merits were freely expresse d, but the Iron 
Duke said nothing. When urged to give his opinion, he replied 
that he was thinking — ' thinking if the steam gun had been first in- 
vented, what a grand improvement gunpowder would have been.' 
If the Chinese Wistaria had been a tree, and some one could have 
induced it to climb and cover our porches and arbors and old trees 
and buildings, what a grand improvement it would have been." 



§tl€m§lfi§ in iff %ard^a. 

My faultless friends, the plants and flowers, 

Have only smiles for me. 
When drought withholds refreshing showers, 
Through hot and dreary summer hours, 

They then droop silently. 

When tired and worn with worldly care, 

Their fragrance seems like praise, 
A benediction in the air ; 
Pure as an unfallen angel's prayer, 

Sweet'ning the saddest days. 

No frowns, no pouting, no complaints, 

In my bright garden fair, 
A colony of sinless saints, 
Whose beauty Nature's pencil paints, 

Are my fair darlings there. 

No inattention can awake 

Envy or jealousy; 
Their alabaster boxes break, 
As Mary's did, and I partake 

Of their rich fragrancy. 

Sometimes with weary soul and sad, 

I taste their sweet perfume ; 
And then my soul is very glad, 
I feel ashamed I ever had 

A hateful sense of gloom. 

Flowers are the sylvan syllables, 

In colors like the bow, 
And wise is he who wisely spells 
The blossomed words where beauty dwells, 

In purple, gold and snow. 

O ! sacred is the use of these 

Sweet gifts to mortals given. 
Their colors charm, their beauties please, 
And every better sense they seize, 

And bear our thoughts to Heaven. 

George W. Bungay. 

(117) 




" Spake full well in language quaint and olden, 

One who dwelleth by the castled Rhine, 
When he called the flowers, so blue and golden, 

Stars, that in earth's firmament do shine. 
Wondrous truths, and manifold as wondrous, 

God hath written in those stars above; 
But not less in these bright flowerets under us, 

Stands the revelation of His love." 

; HAT changes have been manifested — how unceasingly 
and with what deftness Nature has silently wrought in 
tapestry and embroidery, sculpture and painting, till 
fJ&ffl^ beauty is all around us, in the green carpet of earth, 
brightened with flowers and leafage of every hue ! No wonder the 
birds sing praises to Him who gave them life with its fullness of 
blessings. Sad to think that man, high over all, and under the 
greatest obligation, too often is silent in thanksgiving for the gifts 
of a Father's love. 

No month to me has such charms as June, when nature's robes 
are so fresh and clean, and the balmy air is redolent with fragrance. 
How delightful to be abroad with the early worm and early bird, 
working in the garden, while the songsters give free concerts, and 
the hum of the honey bird, and buzz of the bee, set forth a good 
example of cheerful industry ! 

The house plants have become established in the open border, 
and are so glad to get away from artificial heat and confined at- 
mosphere into the broad sunlight of heaven, and breathe in full 
draughts of pure air and sweet dew, that they put on their best at- 
tire, and most attractive ornaments. Before the roses bloom, the 
bed of geraniums looks bright with flowers, each ambitious to excel 

(118) 



TALKS ABOUT FL O WERS. 11 9 

his or her neighbor, either in beauty of color, or form, or duration 
of bloom, thus leaving me in perplexity as to choice. When Pliny 
bloomed everybody admired who saw his beauty ; then Romeo with 
quite another style looked charming, but when Naomi unfolded her 
large trusses of double pips, of a rare, peculiar shade, nobody ever 
saw a geranium quite so lovely, and then its duration of bloom — full 
six weeks ! yennie Dolfus, however, became a dangerous rival — a 
deeper, richer shade, and not a pip would she allow to fade so long 
as Naomi looked so pert. Some said, "I like Naomi the best;" 
others said, " I think yennie is the prettiest." But Beauty, close by, 
hearing the praises lavished on her sisters, and perchance trusting 
in her good name, came forth one day in dress of white with deep 
pink ornamentation. Never had such unique beauty as this ever 
been seen in Geranium before, and, " Isn't it lovely ! " " Just splen- 
did ! " " What a beauty ! " were uttered with exclamation points, 
till she blushed with becoming modesty — the flush spread and deep- 
ened until her face was completely suffused with the delicate tint, 
making her yet more attractive. Wellington donned his crimson 
suit, and De Gasx an orange yellow ; Pauline Lucca, prima donna 
though she be, appeared in dress of pure white, and Richard Dean 
in scarlet with a white star that was very becoming. New Life 
thought to draw special attention by odd freaks, and came out in a 
parti-colored dress of the most singular combinations ; part of it 
was scarlet dotted with white — part of it half scarlet, half salmon, 
part of it widely striped, and part white with just a flush of pink ! 
I must call him the clown of the family ! 

I have only named a few of the rare Geraniums that adorn one 
of the beds of my garden. For beauty, free flowering, and duration 
of bloom they cannot be surpassed. 

Interspersed with them are ornamental leaved Geraniums, Crys- 
tal Palace Gem, an improvement on Cloth of Gold ; Marshal Mc- 
Mahon, the best of all the bronzes ; Cherub, deep green, white and 



120 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

orange, flowers carmine ; Glen Eyre Beauty, Dr. Livingstone,, a new, 
sweet-scented, fine cut-leaved Geranium ; Happy Thought,' one of 
the most attractive, with its dark green leaves and creamy white 
center. Here and there are commingled Anchryanthus of divers 
hues, and Coleosus, giving a fine effect to the whole. This is now 
the most attractive bed of all, but when the Lilies are in bloom, and 
the dear little Tea Roses, the bed parallel with it will be the sweet- 
est, if not so brilliant. 

This year I have a tropical bed of oblong form. A Castor Bean 
rises majestically in the center, two beautiful Cannas each side, 
while a Dracaena, a splendid Croton, two fancy Caladiums, and a 
few other choice plants fill the space, the whole bordered with Cox- 
combs. In a few weeks this bed will look gorgeous, and those filled 
with annuals will have changed from their present inattractiveness 
to delightful bloom. August is really the month of fullness of 
blossom, and of restful enjoyment of beauty and fragrance. The 
weary days of preparation, of bedding out and of weeding, are over, 
and one may now give themselves up to the enjoyment of the fruit 
of their labor, till the chill nights of autumn bring a renewal of the 
toil. 

" Does the brief period of restful enjoyment repay for the many 
weary days antecedent and subsequent ? " 

Yes, richly, fully, for there is pleasure with the toil, and to me 
health-giving influences that energize the physical system for in- 
door work, and stimulate the brain for literary pursuits. To me my 
garden is a God-send, fraught with blessings. 

" Gardening is a pleasant pastime." I am prepared to adopt that 
sentiment to-day, if I did demur somewhat last month. It is a de- 
lightful pastime, in the early morning, to spend an hour among the 
flowers, trowel in hand, rooting out the weeds, loosening the soil 
around your plants, and tying up here and there the tall and frag- 
ile, while the birds are singing in the trees around you their morn- 



TALKS AB0U1 FLOWERS. 121 

ing song of gladness. How the 'dew-laden grass and shrubs im- 
part sweetness to the air, and your lungs inhaling its purity, are 
expanded and invigorated, your whole system feels the better for 
the tonic, and prepares for breakfast, and the work that shall follow. 

It is a pleasant pastime, when wearied with toil you go forth for 
a time among your flowers and search for the buds, or examine the 
newly-opened flower. How it rests you ! 

It is a pleasant pastime, when the labors of the day are over, and 
the sun is throwing long shadows from the west, you take watering- 
pot in hand, and shower the refreshing spray upon your plants, 
cleansing them from the dust, and cooling them after the heat. 
How they thrive, and bud and bloom ! 



ffagfffa 

"We should love flowers, for when we are gone 

From this forgetful world a few short years — 
Nay, months, perhaps — those whom we hold most dear, 

Cease to bedew our memories with tears, 
And no more footsteps mark the paths that lead 

To where we dreamless lie; but God's dear flowers 
Give to our very graves the loveliness 

That won our tender praise when life was ours." 

LAST WORDS OF THE POET HEINE. 

'F the many touching tributes paid to flowers, there is a 

beautiful one associated with the closing hours of Henry 

&§£K Heine, the poet. He was dying in Paris. The doctor was 

'Ww^ paying his usual visit, when Heine pressed his hand and 

said : " Doctor, you are my friend, I ask a last favor. Tell me the 

truth — the end is approaching, is it not ? " 

The doctor was silent. 

" Thank you," said Heine calmly. 

" Have you any request to make ? " asked the doctor, moved to 
tears. 

" Yes," replied the poet ; " my wife sleeps — do not disturb her. 
Take from the table the fragrant flowers she brought me this morn- 
ing. I love flowers so dearly. Thanks — place them upon my 
breast." He paused, as he inhaled their perfume. His eyes closed, 
and he murmured : " Flowers, flowers, how beautiful is Nature!" 
These were his last words. • 

THE OLD MAN AND THE FLOWERS. 

A few years since the Belfast (Me.) Journal gave this touching 
incident : " One day last week an elderly man, known to our people 

(122) 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



123 



as an honest and hard-working citizen, was walking slowly up Main 
street. There was sorrow in his countenance, and the shadow of 
grief upon his face. Opposite the Savings Bank his eye caught 
sight of the flowering Oleander, that with other plants fill the bay- 
window of the banking-room. He looked at it long and wistfully. 
At length he pushed open the door, and approaching Mr. Q., said : 

" ' Will you give me a few of those flowers ? ' 

" The cashier, leaving the counting of money and the computing 
of interest; came around the counter, bent down the plant, cut off 
a cluster of blossoms, and placed it in the man's toil-hardened hand, 
His curiosity led him to ask: 

" ' What do you want them for ? ' 

" ' My little granddaughter died of scarlet fever last night,' the 
man replied with faltering voice, ' and I want to put them in her 
coffin.' 

" Blessed be flowers, that can thus solace the bereavement of 
death and lend their brightness as a bloom, to the last resting-place 
of the loved one." 

CONVERTED BY A FLOWER. 

There is a beautiful incident told of a Texas gentleman who was 
an unbeliever in the Christian religion. One day he was walking 
in the woods, reading the writings of Plato. He came to where 
the great writer uses the phrase, " God geometrizes." He thought 
to himself, " If I could only see plan and order in God's works, I 
could be a believer." Just then he saw a little Texas Star at his 
feet. He picked it up and then thoughtlessly began to count its 
petals. He found there were Jive. He counted the stamens, and 
there were five of them. He counted the divisions at the base of 
the flower, there were five of them. He then set about multiplying 
these three fives to see how many chances there were of a flower 
being brought into existence without the aid of mind, and having 



124 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



■- 



in it these three fives. The chances against it were one hundred 
and twenty-five to one. He thought that was very strange. He 
examined another flower, and found it the same. He multiplied 
one hundred and twenty-five by itself, to see how many chances 
there were against there being two flowers, each having these ex- 
act relations of numbers. He found the chances against it were 
thirteen thousand six hundred and twenty-five to one. But all 
around him were multitudes of these little flowers, and they had 
been growing and blooming there for years. He thought this 
showed the order of intelligence, and that the mind that ordained 
it was God. And so he shut up his book, picked up the little 
flower, kissed it, and exclaimed : u Bloom on little flowers ; sing on 
little birds ; you have a God, and I have a God ; the God that made 
these little flowers made me." 



p^^HIS species is one of the most desirable of hardy-wooded 

f|tl t? plants we possess. They are admirable for the house, for 



the balcony, the piazza, or the border, being handsome in 
^W J foliage, and very graceful and beautiful in flowers. Some 
are stately, others dwarf, some are flexible and drooping. We have 
had for several years three that we have greatly admired for their 
variegated leaves, especially for the winter window-garden, where 
they compensate for the scarcity of flowers, by the brilliancy of 
their foliage, yellow and green, finely mottled and marbled. 

Due de Malakoff is stately, and by cutting off the top of the 
main stalk, it is made to branch out very largely, forming a minia- 
ture tree. It grows very rapidly, and its leaves are like the Maple 
in form, which has led many to call the plant Flowering Maple, but 
this is not correct, as it is not a Maple at all, but an Abutilon. 
Some of the leaves on one only a year old, measure seven inches 
across, and eight and a half in length. In the older plant they 
are not so large. Thomsonii much resembles Malakoff, but its 
markings are not so handsome ; the green is darker, and predomi- 
nates over the yellow, so far as my observation extends, but it is a 
more abundant bloomer. Flowers are orange color. I have vainly 
searched through many catalogues to find the color of the Due de 
Malakoff blossom, but all are silent ; it is not even said that they 
flower at all, but my four-year-old had one bud last year, which un- 
fortunately blighted. The yearling has one bud, and I hope it will 
live and afford me the knowledge I have failed to find in books. 
Malakoff not variegated, has large orange bells, striped with brown. 

My other variegated Abutilons are of trailing habit ; Mesopotam- 
icum is very graceful, one droops over the side, and climbs and 

(125) 



126 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



twines around the cords of a large hanging-pot, for which it is ad- 
mirably adapted. Its small pendant blossoms, crimson and yellow, 
growing profusely along the slender branches, drooping among the 
elegantly marbled foliage, give this variety a very attractive charm. 
Another is trained to a pot trellis, and is very beautiful in this 
form. We advise every one to add this variety to their collection. 
Pictinn is very similar in every respect ; the leaves are darker, and 
not so variegated. They require a strong light to bring out their 
markings, and hence are more perfect in beauty when bedded out 
in the garden, where they can have plenty of sunshine. 

Boule de Neige (Fairy Bell) has long been a favorite for its pure 
white bells and constancy of bloom. A splendid winter bloomer. 
John Hopkins, with its rich, dark, glossy leaves and golden flowers 
has superseded the old Pearl a" Or, which was for a time the only 
real yellow. Darwinii is one of my favorites. The flowers are 
more spreading than any other variety, opening like a parasol ; 
color orange-scarlet veined with pink. It blossoms very profusely, 
and when only a few inches in height. The flowers are large and 
well formed, and borne in clusters rather than singly, like many 
older sorts. This variety was cross-fertilized with Santana, crimson 
flower, and as a result we have Datwinii tessellatum, combining 
the variegated foliage of Thomsonii with the free-blooming quali- 
ties of Darwinii. 

The improvements by hybridizing have been very great within a 
few years, and many new varieties have been sent out. One of 
these is Rosenm Superbum, the flowers of which are of a rich rose 
color, veined with a delicate pink. Very free bloomer. Venosum, 
we find only named in an English catalogue. " The magnificent 
blooms of this variety place it at the top of all the Abutilons. Al- 
though it is of tall growth its beautiful palm-shaped leaves and gor- 
geous flowers make it invaluable for crossing and for conservato- 
ries." — H. Cannell. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 127 

Among the new and valuable novelties of American origin are 
Arthur Belsham, Robert George, J. H. Skinner, and yoseph Hill. 
These have been three years before the public, and Mr. John 
Thorp, a well-known popular florist of Queens, N. Y., says of them, 
" We have not, amongst all the flowering Abutilons, such fine va- 
rieties as these. I have had plants between five and six feet high, 
pyramidal shape and literally covered with flowers." 

They originated with Messrs. Leeds & Co., of Richmond, Indi- 
ana, who make quite a specialty of new seedling Abutilons, and 
this year offer four " of new shades and colors." 

A. G. Porter. " Flowers of a beautiful lavender color, delicately 
suffused with a light shade of rosy pink, and handsomely veined 
with magenta, forming a flower of magnificent color and shape, a 
very free bloomer. A cross between Bottle de Neige and Rosqflora, 
with the habit and growth of Boule de Neige. 

Little Beauty, " A very dwarf grower, having a short, compact, 
symmetrical bush, which is completely covered with its medium- 
sized but well-shaped flowers, of a very light salmon color, beauti- 
fully veined with rosy carmine. It blooms in clusters and when in 
full bloom makes a remarkably fine appearance. A cross between 
Rosaflora and Darwinii." 

N. B. Stover, "A low, compact grower. Flowers large and well- 
formed, almost covering the bush ; color, rich ponceau, finely 
veined with carmine. A decided novelty, being a new color among 
Abutilons." 

Dr. Rapples. " Light orange salmon, veined with crimson. One 
of the most attractive in the set." 

A new Abutilon, a decided novelty in color, comes to us from 
" The Home for Flowers," Swanley, England, sent with other 
choice plants by Henry Cannell & Son. It is thus described in 
his Floral Guide : 

Firefly (Swanley Red). By far the highest and brightest color 



128 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

of all the family ; habit dwarf, and one of the freest bloomers, throw- 
ing flowers out on strong foot stalks of the finest shape ; certainly 
one of the noblest, and when grown in a pot it flowers all the win- 
ter, and all the summer when planted out, and forms one of the best 
flowering shrubs that we possess. 

Parentage of this Flower. — Mr. George states that he some- 
time since flowered a small red variety, which had a very lively 
shade of color, and determining to make this a seed parent, it oc- 
curred to him to use on it the pollen of the single deep color Hi- 
biscas, which, like the Abutilon, is included in the natural order 
Malvacece. Mr. George thinks the fine color seen in his new vari- 
ety, Firefly, is due to this happy inspiration of color. 

The Gardener s Chronicle has this paragraph respecting Firefly : 
A red Abutilon, one of a batch of recent seedlings raised by Mr. J. 
George of Putney Heath, well deserves the foregoing appellation. 
The flowers are of large size and of a much greater depth and viv- 
idness of color than that possessed by any variety in the Chiswick 
collection. It has been provisionally named Firefly, and we believe 
the stock has passed into the hands of H. Cannell & Son, of Swan- 
ley, for distribution. 

A writer in Vick's Magazine describes a method of training the 
Abutilon that must, we think, be a very attractive one. 

" A pretty plant may be obtained by inarching Abutilon Mesopo- 
tamicum upon Abutilon Darwinii, or some other strong-growing 
variety, and training it so as form an unbrella head, which can eas- 
ily be done. The stock for this purpose should be about five or 
six feet high. Grown in this way it produces an abundance of 
bloom, and the flowers being elevated are seen in all their beauty. 
If Abutilon Mesopotamicum is inarched upon Abutilon Thompsonii, 
the result will be Abutilon Mesopotamicum Variegatum. A well- 
formed plant of this on a stock about five feet high is one of the 
finest of plants ; whether in blossom or not it is always adapted for 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 129 

decorative or exhibition purposes. Care must be taken at all times 
to keep them tied to stakes, as they are liable to be broken off by 
the wind." 

Abutilons are apt to be infested by the red spider, if kept in too 
dry an atmosphere, and not frequently sprayed. Moisture is death 
to this pest, but as it makes its home on the under side of the leaf, 
it is too often overlooked until it has destroyed the vitality of the 
foliage. Recently I found that my large Due de Malakoff looked 
sickly, and I concluded it had become root-bound. A few days 
later, I noticed brown spots thickly covering the bark. I removed 
one, and on examining the under side through a microscope, I saw 
several tiny insects moving about. I decided that my plant was 
troubled with the scale of which I had often read, but never seen. 
I made a pretty strong solution of soap-suds, and with a sponge 
quite easily removed all of the pests. 

In bedding out Abutilons, it is better to have them in pots, plug- 
ging the hole, or setting the pot on a stone or piece of brick, so 
that the roots may not go astray, for if plunged directly in the 
ground they throw out many roots and the plant becomes too large 
for re-potting to advantage. If, however, they are planted in the 
earth, in August they should be cut around the stock so as to 
bring the roots within due bounds, and the plant can be pruned 
in the autumn. This method is applicable to all strong plants that 
run largely to roots. They should be cut off sufficiently to leave 
only a ball of earth of convenient size to set in the pot when the 
plant is transplanted. 




HE genus Dahlia comprises but few species, all natives of 
lg the mountains of Mexico, whose range is from 5000 to 
10,000 feet above the level of the sea. About one hundred 
^w * years ago a Spanish botanist introduced seeds of the Dahlia 
into his native country, and named the genus in honor of a Swedish 
botanist, Dahl. The first seed imported seemed to be variable 
and not very promising. About seventy years since, Humboldt 
sent fresh seed to Germany. Soon after this, both seeds and bulbs 
were introduced into England and France, and began to attract 
considerable attention, some enthusiast being rash enough to haz- 
ard the assertion that " there are considerable reasons for thinking 
that the Dahlia will hereafter be raised with double flowers." 

About 1 8 12 probably the first double Dahlia was grown, but for 
several years after this both double and single varieties were figured 
in colored plates, and exhibited at horticultural shows. That the 
single varieties were prized is not strange, for the double were not 
very good, and events late as 181 8, published figures showed very 
imperfect flowers. 

The improvement of the Dahlia after this was rapid, and its pop- 
ularity quite kept pace with its improvement. Dahlia exhibitions 
were held in England and on the Continent, which were crowded 
by enthusiastic admirers of this wonderful Mexican flower. For 
many years the Dahlia maintained its popularity, but there is a 
fashion in flowers, as in almost everything, and for a time the Dahlia 
became, to a certain extent, unfashionable, and this was well ; for 
it placed the flower upon merit alone, and growers were compelled 
to introduce new and superior varieties to command either attention 
or sale for their favorite flower. 

(130) 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 131 

A taste for old styles is now the " correct thing," and so we have 
imitations of ancient earthenware, furniture, etc., and import origi- 
nal Chinese Aster seed, and also obtain roots of the single Dahlia 
from Mexico. 

There are three pretty distinct classes, the Show Dahlias, the 
Dwarf or Bedding, and the Pompon or Bouquet, and to this we may 
add the Fancy Dahlia. The Show Dahlia grows from three to four 
feet in height, and embraces all our finest sorts, fit for exhibition 
at horticultural shows, from which the name is derived ; the flowers 
range in size from two and a half to five inches in diameter. The 
striped and mottled and spotted varieties belonging to the Show 
section are called Fancy, and though not as rich, nor usually as 
highly prized as the selfs, or those of one color, are very attractive. 
The Dwarf or Bedding Dahlia grows about eighteen inches in 
height, and makes a thick, compact bush, and covers a good deal 
of surface ; flowers of the size of Show Dahlias. They are there- 
fore very desirable for bedding and massing. The Pompon or Bou- 
quet Dahlia makes a pretty, compact plant, about three feet in 
height. The leaves are small, and the flowers from one to two 
inches in diameter. Many expect to find small flowers on their 
Dwarf Dahlias, and feel disappointed because they are of the ordi- 
nary size, not knowing that it is the plant, and not the flower, that 
is dwarfed, and that only the Pompon gives the small flowers. 
The word Pompon is French for topknot or trinket, meaning about 
the same as the English word cockade. The English term Bouquet 
is very appropriate, as the flowers are so small they are very suita- 
ble for bouquets. Being of a spreading habit, they cover a good 
deal of ground. Unlike most of our bedding out plants, they do 
best in a poor soil ; if rich, they grow to branches and leaves so 
much, they bloom sparingly and late. 

Generally those who plant Dahlias purchase the tuberous roots, 
because they give good strong plants, that flower freely without 



132 TALKS ABOUT FL O WERS. 

trouble or risk. They are smaller and better than the large, coarse 
roots usually grown, because they are raised from cuttings, and 
generally form their roots in pots. When a tuber is planted, a 
number of buds that cluster around its top will push and form 
shoots, and if too numerous, a portion should be removed ; indeed, 
one good, strong plant will suffice, and then the plant will become 
a tree instead of a bush. Even then, if the top become too thick, 
a little thinning of the branches will be of advantage. If the young 
shoots that start from the neck of the bulb, are cut off near a joint 
and placed in a hot-bed in sandy soil, they will root, form good 
plants, and flower quite as well as plants grown from the tuber ; 
this, however, requires some care and experience, and amateurs 
generally will succeed best with bulbs. 

New varieties of Dahlias, of course, are from seed. Some of 
them prove good, others fair, and a portion utterly worthless. As 
a general rule, we would not advise amateurs to trouble with seeds, 
although there is pleasure in watching the birth and development 
of a new and beautiful variety. 

The seed of Dahlias may be sown in pots in early spring or end 
of winter, in a light, loamy soil ; they will germinate quickly, and 
as soon as they begin to show their second leaves they should be 
pricked out into other pots or boxes, so that they may have plenty 
of room and air — they are very liable to damp off if at all crowded* 
After pricking out they should be kept in a thrifty, growing condi- 
tion, by proper attention to watering and temperature ; the tem- 
perature should be maintained as near jo° as possible, and the wa- 
tering be sufficient to preserve a moderate moisture. 

If the green fly attack them, it will be best to treat them to a 
very weak dilution of tobacco water ; the young succulent plants 
are very sensitive to smoke, and it is best not to fumigate them. 
In about two months the young plants should be large enough to 
pot off singly, or to be transplanted into a frame or bed, where pro- 



TALKS AB0U7 FLOWERS. 133 

tection can be given them from the cold of night-time, or from late 
frosts. As soon as all danger is past they can be transplanted in- 
to their summer quarters, and should stand at least three feet 
apart. The soil where they are to grow, should be rich and mellow. 
In August they will come into flower, and those having blooms 
worthy of cultivation can be retained, and the others destroyed. 
Only a small proportion of the plants grown from common seed 
produce flowers equal to those now in cultivation, but when seed is 
saved from a choice collection of named varieties, the chances are 
that a large proportion of the plants will produce very good flow- 
ers. — Vicfcs Magazine. 

u The Dahlia is called a gross feeder, but it is not. It loves 
moisture rather than rich elemental food. In clay it finds the best 
constituents of its development — moisture, silex, lime and alumnia. 
So we say to those who love this queenly flower, if you would see 
the queen in all her glory, plant in a comparatively heavy soil, no 
manure, and reduce the stalks to one for each tuber, set the stakes 
firmly, to keep the stalks from swaying, and if the season is dry, 
give the bulbs a soaking with water every evening during the 
drought. My word for it you will then be proud of your success." 

The Pompon, or Bouquet Dahlia is a favorite variety of this ge- 
nus. The little round balls of bloom are so pretty and trim. 
Beatrice, blush tinted with violet; Dr. Stein, deep maroon, striped 
and mottled ; Goldfinder, golden yellow ; Little Philip, creamy- 
buff edged with lilac ; Little Valentine, crimson ; Mein Streifling, 
salmon, striped with crimson; Pearl, white; Prima Donna, white, 
fimbriated ; Perfection, deep maroon. 

SINGLE DAHLIAS. 

Anything for a change from the common order of things, seems 
to be the fashion now-a-days, in flowers as well as in house build- 
ing and house furnishing. The antique, the antique, is the rage ! 
So after years of labor and hybridization to bring the Dahlia up 



1 34 TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 

from its native state of single blessedness, to its enormous cauli- 
flower blooms, there comes a reaction, and now single Dahlias are 
praised as " the most beautiful of all flowers," the "par excellence 
the Londoner's flower ! " Well, let the English florists thus praise 
its beauty if they want to, but we opine that on this side of the 
great ocean it will never be considered "the most beautiful of all 
flowers," however attractive some of them may be, and well adapt- 
ed for bouquets. There is no danger of their superseding, the 
doubles, but it is well to have both when one can afford it ; their 
present high price puts them beyond the reach of those whose 
purses are not well filled, but in a year or two, when the novelty is 
worn off, they can be purchased at half or even less, perhaps, than 
their present price. 

We find in the London Garden the following : " Dahlia perfecta, 
originally introduced by Messrs. Henderson, is perhaps the finest 
flower which we possess, unless Paragon, brought into notice by 
H. Cannell, may be considered to bear away the palm. Lutea, a 
quilled yellow, is also a grand bouquet flower." 

The single Dahlias, Paragon and Lutea, are now offered for the 
first time in this country, by Messrs. Hallock & Thorp of Queens, 
N. Y., and the former is finely illustrated in their catalogue. Color 
very dark velvety maroon with shadings of bright scarlet around 
each petal ; small yellow disk. Lutea is pure yellow, with dark 
orange center. The same firm offer Dahlia Juarezii, of which Mr. 
Cannell says : "The grandest novelty of the year, and not only a 
novelty, but a most valuable and useful decorative plant for all pur- 
poses through the late summer and autumn months. Its blossoms 
are of a rich crimson, and very much resemble in shape and color 
the well-known Cactus, Cereus speciosissimus. Height about three 
feet, very bushy flowers of very striking appearance and quite un- 
like those of an ordinary double Dahlia, the flowerets being flat 
and not cupped. Figured in Gardeners Chronicle October 4th, 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 135 

1879, anc * awarded a Botanical Certificate Royal Horticultural 
Society." 

The following statement was made in the Gardener s Chronicle 
respecting this new type : 

I " A remarkable box of Dahlias "was shown by Messrs. Cannell 
with three or four of the single forms, which, if it were not heresy 
to say so, we should so much prefer to the formal lumps so dear to 
the florist proper ; and then there was a new type of Dahlia alto- 
gether, a Sea Anemone among Dahlias, with long crimson scarlet 
pointed petals, like the tentacles of an Antinia — a striking novelty, 
christened temporarily the Cactus Dahlia, and which will be the 
parent of a new strain. It received a Botanical Certificate ; some 
said this ought to have a higher award, but what higher or more 
appropriate form of a certificate could be given to such a flower. 
If we were a Dahlia, we should greatly prefer the honor of a 'Bo- 
tanical/ to that of a ' First Class Certificate.' " 

This new type is illustrated in Hallock & Thorp's Catalogue. 

Two new Dahlias not yet introduced in this country are includ- 
ed* among the novelties of 1 881. CannelVs Scarlet, a Show Dahlia, 
several shades higher and brighter in color than any scarlet before 
introduced. " Its shape is most model-like, and not excelled by 
any other, and is without doubt the best Dahlia of the year." Miss 
Cannell, (Eckford) — " Mr. Eckford's Dahlia, Memorial, was the king 
of best shapes for many years, but the one now offered is of great- 
er excellence, and by far the best of its class ; color white, tipped 
with rose-pink, and the depth and build of flower is most model- 
like." 

AMARYLLIS. 

These are the finest of all summer flowering bulbs, throwing up 
strong flower stems in June and July, bearing from two to six mag- 
nificent lily-like blossoms. The varieties are numerous, but only a 
few sorts are found catalogued. Amaryllis Johnsonii is the finest 



136 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

of the commonly grown varieties. Its leaves are a dark rich green, 
two inches broad, and two feet long. The flowers which are five 
or six inches long, are crimson with a white stripe through the cen- 
ter of each petal, and are borne upon a stalk two feet high. They 
usually bloom twice a year, the flowers appearing just as the leaves 
begin to grow. 

Amaryllis formosissima is of a very peculiar form. The flowers 
are scarlet-crimson, very velvety in appearance ; there are six pet- 
als, three of them nearly erect, and three drooping very long. 
After being bedded out, it quickly throws up a flower stalk and 
blooms before the leaves appear. It is a superb flower, known 
sometimes by the name of Jacobean Lily. Amaryllis vittata is a 
splendid hybrid, red ground striped with white. Amaryllis Valotta 
purpurea is an evergreen variety, and should be kept growing the 
year round. In August it throws up a flower-stem from one foot 
to eighteen inches high, bearing a cluster of light scarlet flowers 
two or three inches in diameter. A light soil and small pot suits 
it best. Mr. John Lewis Child of Queens, N. Y., has a finer collec- 
tion and more numerous varieties than are usually found named in 
the catalogues. Some of them we will specify. Johnsonii Grand- 
iflora, an improvement on the well-known Johnsonii Harrisoni, 
large, pure white, with double crimson streaks running through 
each petal. It has a delicious, orange-blossom fragrance. Reticu- 
lata, a bright rose color, the foliage is very attractive — dark green 
with a white stripe running through the center of each leaf. Au- 
lica Stenopelalon, a magnificent species, having large orange crim- 
son flowers, beautifully veined with scarlet. " Equestre fl. pi. 
This grand novelty was discovered in 1877, in one of the West 
India Islands. The flowers are perfectly double, resembling those 
of a large Camellia. Its color is rich, fiery orange red. We be- 
lieve we have the only stock of this beautiful flower in America." 
John L. Child. 

This and Harrisoni, are priced at $4.50, so they must be very 



TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 137 

rare and beautiful. Aspasie, white, tinted with yellow and red ; 
large and perfect. Crinum Amaenum, new and very beautiful, 
white-striped crimson. Lutea, a hardy variety, which blooms in 
the autumn ; pure yellow. Calafornica, pure white. 

The bulbs are of easy culture. After blooming, and the foliage 
fully grown, they should be allowed to rest for several months, 
then start into growth by watering sparingly until the flower stalks 
appear, when a more liberal supply should be given. Usually two 
successions of bloom can thus be obtained. The bulb should be 
planted so as to leave the upper portion uncovered. 

HOYA CARNOSA, OR WAX PLANT. 

This plant is a native of tropical Asia, where it is partially para- 
sitical, its roots penetrating the bark of the trees which support it. 
It was introduced into England in 1802. There are several spe- 
cies, but only one is generally cultivated. Hoya Carnosa has 
thick waxy leaves, and bears umbels of beautiful flesh-colored 
flowers which are very wax-like in appearance. It is an excellent 
plant for house culture as it stands the extremes of heat and cold 
better than most plants, and is not easily injured by neglect. It 
can be trained to climb on trellis-work to almost any height, and 
when in bloom, which continues for half the year, it is a very inter- 
esting plant. 

There are several varieties of Hoya, but one only is generally 
cultivated. Silver Variegated Foliage is said to be very handsomg, 
but is of slow growth and difficult to propagate. Imperialis is a 
new variety with beautiful foliage and scarlet flowers. Cunningham 
has light green leaves, deeper colored flowers than the Carnosa 
and is a rapid grower. 

They succeed best in peat, with some fibrous soil and sand. 
They must have perfect drainage, and require a period of rest. 
Hoya Carnosa is easily propagated from cuttings. A very good 
method is to wrap a cutting in moss, keeping it moist until the 
roots are well started. 



gtpitg gff |Wf 




^UGUST is the month when we rest from our labor in gar- 
dening, and abandon ourselves to the full enjoyment of the 
varied blossoms which so abundantly meet our eye. Now 
we can best determine what changes may be required in 
the arrangement of our plants next year, in order to give the most 
pleasing effect. A tall plant may have been inadvertently set out 
in the midst of those of low growth, and we see now how awkward 
it looks. Short-lived annuals may have occupied a conspicuous 
place, and on their departure left an unseemly vacancy. A bed 
may have been filled with a class of plants that are not free bloom- 
ers, and so there has been little beside leaves, while another bed 
has been brilliant during all the summer months with flowers. 
Annuals of a new kind, high-priced novelties, have been tested ; 
are they any better than our old favorites ? If we cannot indulge 
in many sorts, what do we find the most satisfactory ? Twenty-five 
cents per packet seemed very expensive for Heddewigii Pinks, but 
Crimson Belle and Eastern Queen are of such superior size and 
rare beauty that the investment is not regretted, and then we know 
that they will bloom in greater perfection next year, and that the 
seed saved this autumn and sown in early spring, will increase the 
Sj:ock. Twenty-five cents for a paper of Candytuft seed looks ex- 
travagant, but no one who invests in Tom Thumb would regret it. 
It is so dwarf, so compact and bushy, such a long continued bloom- 
er, so admirable for edging a bed, that it is really almost an essen- 
tial. Then it will sow itself, and the seedlings will be up as soon 
as the frost is out of the ground, and plants from self-sown seed 
are so much more thrifty and early than those one sows in the 
spring, that this is a great gain. 

(138) 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 139 

Candytuft — white, pink, light purple, dark purple and crimson, I 
find it well worth while to culture for early and profuse flowers, 
and admirably adapted for bouquets. I always have large quanti- 
ties of the white, to set off the brighter flowers, and by sowing seed 
in June and July, have a succession of blooming plants. Foxglove, 
both white and purple, with their thimble-shaped spotted blossoms 
profusely borne on tall spikes, with side branches loaded with 
bloom, has been one of the greatly admired flowers of my garden. 
Plumbago, with its clusters of tube flowers, of the palest of blue, is 
very beautiful. Godetia, " Lady Albemarle," I have found to be 
all that it is represented. For two months it has been in constant 
bloom, and it will continue to flower till frost. It is of a bushy, com- 
pact habit, about twelve inches high, the flowers are from three to four 
inches in diameter, and of a rosy-carmine color. Everybody who 
has seen it, has a word of praise for this most beautiful of all the 
Godetias. Alba is a new variety, having pure white flowers; In- 
signis is pure white with a crimson blotch on each petal ; Whitney s 
is of dwarf habit, and has large flowers, blush-colored, marked about 
the center with a handsome crimson stain. The new French Mar- 
igolds "Cloth of Gold," and " Meteor" are just splendid with their 
large and beautifully striped imbricated leaves. One has gold bars 
evenly marked on the rich dark velvety petals, and the other has 
deep orange stripes on a pale straw-colored, almost white ground. 
" Meteor " is a perfect gem among the Calendulas. 

Convolvulus minor — new crimson-violet with yellow eye encir- 
cled with a band of pure white ; dark blue and light blue with yel- 
low eye margined with white ; pure white with yellow eye, and 
blue and white striped, are very pretty free-blooming dwarfs of this 
species. 

My Stocks are very fine, from mixed seed of the German, new 
large flowering. They are mostly very double. The creamy white 
are especially beautiful. The bright crimson and canary yellow 



140 TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 

are handsome. There are many varieties of this species, but what 
are generally termed Ten-weeks Stock are best known. They are 
classed under five heads : Dwarf, Miniature, Large-flowered, Py- 
ramidal and Wall- flower-leaved. Then there are the Intermediate 
Stocks, prized for their late autumn blooming, of which there are 
twelve or more varieties. The German Brompton Stocks are divid- 
ed into two sections ; Brompton and Hybrid, or Cocordean. The 
latter bloom with a single stem which forms a splendid pyramid of 
flowers, and is cultivated largely in pots. Seeds sown in early 
spring will bloom in autumn, and if carefully potted will flower 
during winter ; if sown in July and August, and cultivated in pots 
will flower the following spring and summer. The Imperial or 
Emperor stocks, sometimes called Perpetual, are large flowering, 
and white, rose, crimson and blood-red in color. 

" Hardy's All-the-Year-Round," is a perpetual bloomer. The 
plants grow about twelve inches high, and produce hundreds of 
bunches of double white flowers. 

Let us linger a little while at this rose bed. Are not those Teas 
lovely ? Look at Madame Lambard, one of the finest French roses 
imported recently from Paris. Is not the color exquisite — a beau- 
tiful shade of silver bronze, changing to salmon and fawn, delicately 
shaded with carmine rose. And so deliciously fragrant ! That 
rose so large and full, with a rare shade of violet red, brightened 
with crimson maroon, is Aline Sisley. It is surprising how such a 
tiny plant could have produced such an immense flower ! And 
this is Letty Coles, a new French rose, very handsome and sweet ; 
color rosy-pink, deeply shaded with intense crimson. Perle des 
Jardins is magnificent with its rich golden yellow, and Bon Silene 
has long been a special favorite. Its buds are large and beautiful. 
That charming white so deliciously scented is Mademoiselle Rachel, 
and this one with pure deep green flowers is Verdiflora, or Green 
Rose, scentless, and of no value except as a curiosity.^ 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 141 

This grand rose is Abel Carriere, a hybrid perpetual more beau- 
tiful I think than the popular Jacqueminot in the perfectness of its 
form, and richness of its color. The outer petals are bright glow- 
ing crimson-scarlet, while the center is a deep fiery red. But it 
will never do to linger longer among the sweet roses, for there are 
many other flowers to show you. 

I think that Hydrangea, with its immense trusses of bloom, is 
just one of the most desirable shrubs we can have in the garden. 
I have had mine six or seven years, and it bore three clusters of 
flowers the first year, though a wee plant. It blooms from Au- 
gust till hard frost, and needs no protection in the winter, though 
I do sometimes put a mulching of straw or a bit of brush around 
the roots. A lady writing to VicHs Magazine says of this Hydran- 
gea : " The first year I planted Hydrangea Grandiflora it produced 
three heads of flowers, the second, fifty-six, and the third year 
ninety-two. Thorough cultivation and a pail of liquid manure 
once a week, helped the plant to bear this enormous load of 
flowers." 

Hydrangea Alaska is a more recent acquisition. Its flowers fre- 
quently measure twelve inches across, and are of a bright pink color, 
not hardy at the North. Hydrangea Thomas Hogg would be a very 
unpoetical name did it not remind one of " The Ettrick Shepherd." 
This variety was sent to the United States from Japan, by that 
eminent botanist for whom it is named, and has become deservedly 
popular. It belongs to the Hortensia section of the family, but is 
a far more abundant bloomer than any other. The flowers are of 
the purest white, of very firm texture, and retain their beauty for a 
long time. 

A more recent novelty sent from Japan by Mr. Hogg, is the 
" New Climbing Hydrangea," which he describes as clinging to 
trees to the height of fifty feet, producing corymbs of white flowers 
of the size of ordinary Hydrangeas. It clings exactly like the Ivy, 



142 TALKS ABOUT FL WERS. 

and must produce a striking effect when in full bloom. It is en- 
tirely hardy. Mr. Peter Henderson was the first to offer this nov- 
elty here and in Europe. Elegantissima is a novelty truly with its 
leaves flaked, bordered and striped with golden yellow. I do not 
know whether it blossoms or not, it is handsome enough without 
flowers. 

HELIOTROPE. 

The new Heliotrope Le Negre is 
the darkest of this genus, and Snow 
Wreath the nearest approach to 
'white we have yet had ; truss very 
large, growth compact, and fragrance 
exquisite. Garibaldi is almost white ; 
Mrs. Burgess is dark violet, and Due 
de Lavendury is a rich blue, dark eye. 
Sweet Alyssum is another of the 
essential flowers for the border, ad- 
mirable for edgings, for its dwarf 
habit and continuity of bloom. The great novelty of last year was 
the new double variegated Sweet Alyssum — " The Gem." The 
flowers are very full, and the foliage broad with a mid-rib of light 
green, bordered on each side with pure white. It is a fine, com- 
pact grower, and far superior to anything of this species yet offered. 
Lantanas, I think, add greatly to the attractions of the garden, 
so rich in color and profuse in blooming. Clotilda, pink with yel- 
low center, and Comtesse de Diencourt* flower bright rose and yellow 
center sulphur, are very desirable. Alba perfecta, pure white, is 
fine, so also is Alba lutea grandiflora, white with yellow center. 
Mine d' Or is a new variety, with bright orange and crimson flow- 
ers, and golden variegated foliage. M. Schmidt is a beautiful 
novelty. Flowers of a brilliant yellow, passing into purple vermil- 
ion ; grows in the style of a Petunia. 





%£>^kEXT to Primroses, and by no means below them in value, 
we place the Cyclamen. The leaves, a deep green with 
white embroidery, are very ornamental, but when sur- 
fr ^ mounted with a wealth of bloom, what can be more charm- 
ing ? Two of mine have begun to blossom — a white and a pink — 
and the buds are numerous. Others will bloom later. They con- 
tinue in bloom for a long period, and are easy of culture, though 
where there is over-dryness of atmosphere, they are apt to be in- 
fested with the red spider. They need to be frequently sprayed 
and it is well to immerse occasionally the entire plant in water so 
as to wet the under surface of the leaves. The water ought to be 
tepid, and indeed for all plants in cold weather. To keep the dirt 
from falling out when the plant is plunged top downward, some- 
thing can be wrapped around the pot. A mixture of turfy loam 
and sandy peat is best, but when not available, leaf mold or a rich 
mellow soil mixed with silver sand will do. 

There are several varieties of Cyclamen, but the most common 
is persicum, and many catalogues name no other. One of mine is 
gigantium, an improvement on persicum, the flowers being much 
larger and finer in every respect. Among many catalogues I find 
this named in only one. Persicum, white and pink, is a sweet 
scented variety from Cyprus ; Africamim, white and rose, from 
Africa ; hedercefolium, from Britain. Other rare and expensive 
sorts are Atkinsii, white, crimson and rose colored ; Europeum, red, 
and Coum, which in the early spring months bears above its very 
ornamental leaves " a profusion of small bright, rosy, crimson and 
snow-white turbinate blossoms of a roundish recurved outline, 
blotched with violet-crimson at the base, very beautiful." 

(143) 



144 TALKS ABOUT FLO WERS. 

The bulbs of all Cyclamens, except Coum, should be placed on 
the surface of the soil, covered half an inch, and water given mod- 
erately till the leaves are fully developed, and the flowers appear, 
when it may be applied more liberally. Do not make a mistake 
and plant your bulb upside down as did a lady I know of. " I have 
an idea that it is put in wrong, as the leaves seem to come from 
the under side," she writes. It is difficult to tell sometimes which 
is the right side to put down. 

Persicum, with its dappled green and silvery gray, rounded, heart- 
shaped leaves, embroidered margins, is a fine ornament, but when 
these are surmounted with a profusion of pure silvery white "oblong 
lanceolate petals, blotched with violet-crimson at their base, borne 
on slender flower-scopes, the plant is very beautiful. It varies in 
color from snow-white delicate peach and rosy crimson. Some are 
delightfully fragrant. During the growing and flowering season 
the plant should have a full exposure to the light, but not to* the 
intense sunshine. After blooming, the bulbs may be allowed a 
time of rest, removing them to a cool and shady place in the bor- 
der, if desired, watering rarely. In early autumn repot, and after a 
few weeks of growth, water more freely. It does not, however, in- 
jure the plant to keep it constantly growing, and the best florists 
have very generally abandoned their former method of letting them 
rest during the summer. Cyclamen autumnale flore alba, white, 
and rubra, red, blossom in the autumn. 

OXALIS. 

The winter blooming varieties are admirably adapted for hang- 
ing-pots, and being cheap and very easy of cultivation, they ought 
to be in every dwelling. There are one hundred and fifty known 
varieties, though our catalogues rarely name half-a-dozen. Some 
are strictly winter bloomers, others flower only in summer, and 
some blossom the year round. The floribunda varieties belong to 
this class of perpetuals. Ortgiesi also, which is a wonderful bloom- 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 145 

er, and on account of its erect growth, is admirably adapted for pot 
culture. It is a new and somewhat rare species from Brazil. It 
often grows eighteen inches high, and in good form. The upper 
side of the leaf is rich olive green, and the under side bright violet 
purple. The flowers are quite small, yellow, and borne in clusters. 
The special beauty is in the foliage. 

Floribunda alba and rosea have tuberous roots. The foliage is 
very strong, and the clusters of bloom are borne on long foot-stalks 
starting directly from the tuber. A single small tuber will often 
have a hundred open flowers at a time. They are from one-half to 
three-quarters of an inch in diameter. This variety can be obtain- 
ed and planted at any time of the year. It is admirably adapted 
for baskets or a hanging-pot. 

Oxalis acetocella is the true shamrock of Ireland. Flowers are 
white, borne on stalks two to four inches high. Versicolor \s> a win- 
ter bloomer ; color white, with bright pink margins to the petals ; 
requires sunshine ; the flowers will not expand in cloudy weather. 
Floribunda has no such freaks, but smiles in the storm, as well as 
the sunshine. A lady writing to Mr. Vick becomes enthusiastic 
over her Oxalis. She says : " The sixth of last October I planted 
a bulb of Oxalis versicolor, and it is just beginning to bloom. And 
oh ! what lovely flowers ; delicate and perfect in form, pure white, 
with just the faintest tinge of yellow in the center, and beautiful 
crimson stripes on the outside. The plant also is of a very grace- 
ful habit, bearing its tuft of small leaves, and clusters of flowers on 
the top of a short, slender stem. It seems strange that so small a 
bulb can produce such beautiful flowers." 

Of Bowii she thus writes : " A year ago last October I planted 
a bulb of Oxalis Bowii in a small bed. The bulb was so very 
small that I did not believe the flowers could amount to much, but 
was soon most agreeably disappointed. Such a mass of flowers on 
one small plant I had never seen before, and such large, bright- 
10 



146 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

colored flowers ! Many stopped to admire it, and ask its name. It 
continued to produce a mass of flowers the entire winter and part 
of the spring, until the sun became very hot. From this one bulb 
I obtained eight, which I wrapped in paper and kept in a dry place. 
About the first of August they commenced growing, and so I 
planted them, and the first of September they were in full bloom, 
though the flower grew large as the days became less hot, until 
they were nearly as large as Petunias. The soil in which they 
grew was mostly sand and rich surface earth from the woods, and 
I sometimes watered them with weak soap-suds." 

Mr. Vick, to whom we are indebted for the most of our informa- 
tion on this subject, says that this variety has large, thick, fleshy 
leaves, and large, bright, rose-colored flowers, the largest, indeed, 
of any of the cultivated kinds. 

In his illustrated article he gives an engraving of one named 
Cemuiis plena, the flowers of which resemble double Portulacas ; 
erect, borne in clusters. We regret that he gives no reference to 
this variety whatever. It must be a rare sort, probably not in the 
market here. 



A fnl| Mm% ( Mltm§* 




" CONSIDER THE LILIES. 

,HUS spake one wiser than Solomon, even He whose hand 
g created and beautified the Lilies with a glory surpassing 
|§ that of the greatest of Israel's kings. 

This department of the Floral kingdom is too vast for us 
to explore ; we can only make a selection of a few of the numerous 
varieties for consideration, gathering our information from the vari- 
ous sources at hand, and adapting it to our present use. 

The Lily is the rival of the Rose, and by many is considered 
far superior. They certainly are far more easily cultivated. They 
are hardy, elegant, gorgeous sometimes, and sometimes of snowy 
purity. Many of them are of exquisite fragrance. There are early 
and late bloomers, and one can have these desirable flowers in suc- 
cession for several months, by a right selection. The earliest 
bloomers are the Pomponiums, natives of Siberia, and are perfectly 
hardy. The Lancifolium or Speciosum is the autumn blooming Lily, 
native of Japan. Lancifolium Album, a fine sort, with pure white 
petals and a pea-green stripe, very fragrant. Lanclfolmm Rubrum, 
and Roseum, though catalogued separately, are the same with dif- 
ferent shadings. Some purplish crimson, others a faint blush of 
rose. Some have a red stripe, others a dark dull green, but all are 
specially recommended. Lancifolium Punctatum verum is a late 
bloomer ; color, clear white with soft rose spots and green stripes. 
Finest of the species, Lancifolium Praecox ; flowers white with a 
purplish-blush at the tips. Lancifolium Monstrosum or Corymbi- 
florum rubrum, bears its crimson flowers in large clusters. Grows 
to a great size. 

The Lancifolium Lilies are of special value for their hardiness 

(147) 




148 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

and varied beauty, and their cheapness places them within general 
reach. They are classed under the head of Martagons, or Turks 
Cap. 

Auratum Imperially the Golden-banded- 
Lily of Japan which has become so exten- 
sively known and popular since its intro- 
duction from Japan by Mr. Gordon Dexter. 
It was first exhibited in July 1862, at the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Exhibition. 
It first bloomed in England same year. It 
was for sometime considered too tender 
for the Canadas and New England states, 
but it proved to be hardy. We have had ours twelve years, and 
give it only a slight protection. The petals of th e Auratum are 
snowy white with a golden band running down the center of each, 
and freely spotted on the sides with deep carmine red. They are 
very fragrant. Being of somewhat slender growth, they need sup- 
port. It does best in a warm sandy soil that has been well manured 
and dug deeply. It is easily propagated from the scales of the bulbs, 
each scale producing a small bulbet. They should be planted in a box 
about a foot deep, in good friable soil about three inches deep, and 
one inch apart. Sink the box in some out of the way place in the 
garden, and water frequently. In a short time small bulbs will be 
found forming on the base, which rapidly grow, and must be trans- 
planted out the second year in the bed ; the third or fourth year it 
will bloom. The little bulbets which form on the mother bulb 
blossom a year earlier. They should be renewed in the fall, after 
the foliage is dead. Plant in a bed about four inches deep, and let 
them remain undisturbed for two years ; then they are large enough 
to bloom and should be transplanted into a permanent bed, if re- 
quired. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



149 



LONGIFLORUM LILIES. 

These trumpet-shaped Lilies are 
charming in appearance, quite har- 
dy and fragrant. They bloom in 
July or August, and continue in 
beauty for a long time. 

Longiflorum Japonicum blooms 
in July, and is a fine dwarf bedder; 
color pure white, with occasionally 
a greenish tinge outside. Increas- 
es rapidly. Eximium bears a 
longer flower, from six to nine inch- 
es in length, and is more open at 
the mouth than the common Lon- 
giflorum. Pure white and very fra- 
grant. Brownii is a native of Ja- 
pan, and is a grand Lily of rare 
beauty. It resembles Longiflorum in shape, but is larger and more 
expanding ; color white inside, exterior brownish-purple ; stamens 
rich chocolate, which forms a distinctive feature in this species. It 
has been frequently confounded with Japonicum, but the difference 
is very marked in the illustrations of the two, and are thus noted 
in Messrs. Haliock & Thorp's "Catalogue of Lilies." 

"Japonicum (Odorum, Japonicum Colchesterii). One of the most 
beautiful and rarest Lilies in cultivation. It differs from Brownii 
and all the forms of Longiflorum in many respects. Note the fol- 
lowing marked differences : Its broader, fewer and more spreading 
leaves, the shape of the entire flower and broader claw of its divis- 
ions, its shorter anthers with pollen tinged with red. The flower 
is solitary and large, interior pure white, exterior of a pinkish- 
brown color, tubular, bell -shaped, with spreading revolute tips ; the 




150 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 



bud shows a rich golden tint. Bulb white, or whitish-yellow, never 
red or brown, broad at the base, the scales which are somewhat 
narrow and acute at the tip, the outer ones terminate at about 
two-thirds of the height of the inner scales, whereas in Brownii the 
scales are broad, and all pass up, overlapping, and terminate to- 
gether at the apex of the bulb, thus making the base much nar- 
rower than the apex." 

It is a native of Japan, and is so exceedingly rare that it is priced 
at $7.00, more than double the cost of any other in the list. 
Brownii was priced, when a novelty at $4.00, but is now offered 
for $1.75: 

Candidum, sometimes called Easter 
Lily, is one of the best known and 
commonly grown of all the Lilies. 
It has been in cultivation for about 
three hundred years. Bears a profu- 
sion of pure white fragrant flowers in 
-a compact head. 

The double Tiger Lily is a very 
great improvement on the old single 
variety. It is very double, and very showy. Wallacei is a new Jap- 
anese variety, said to be magnificent ; color, buff, spotted with black. 
Chalcedonicum or Scarlet Martagon is supposed to be the " Lily 
of the field " mentioned in the Gospel. " It is magnificent, and its 
intense scarlet is one of the finest shades in the whole vegetable 
kingdom. A full bed is a most magnificent sight, and if suddenly 
looked at on a bright day, has nearly the same effect for a moment 
as if looking at the sun. It is much scarcer than it should be, and 
requires careful culture, to be planted about six or eight inches 
deep, and watered in the summer time. It pleases every one who 
is capable of being pleased." 

Lilies, as well as many other bloomers, are greatly improved by 




TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 151 

thinning out the overplus, thus concentrating the sap to fewer blos- 
soms, which being thus liberally nourished, greatly increase in size, 
and amply repay, by their superiority, for the loss in numbers. 
Although this is a demonstrated fact, yet few have the courage to 
prune where flowers are not very abundant, and many will not 
when they are. 

Those who have limited space are loth to devote much room to 
Lilies, preferring plants that bloom continually throughout the sea- 
son, or that make more show. But it is not essential that the bed 
should be devoted exclusively to lilies. For early spring blooming 
there can be the Crocuses, Snowdrops, Hyacinths, Tulips, all of 
which will bloom before the lilies, and after flowering can be taken 
up, i.e., the Tulips and Hyacinths, and low bedding plants take 
their places. Portulaca, Pansy, Ageratum, Mignonnette, Nem- 
ophila, Sweet Alyssum, are all suitable for this purpose, and will 
not only make the bed beautiful all the season with their blossoms, 
but will also be of real benefit to the Lilies by shading their roots 
somewhat, and keeping the soil more cool and moist. 

Lilies must never be crowded ; a foot or twenty inches is about 
right. The soil should be dug deep and mixed with old rotted ma- 
nure and sand liberally, unless the soil is naturally sandy ; if heavy, 
clayey soil, it ought to have in addition to sharp sand, leaf mold 
and bog muck. Plant the bulbs from six to eight inches deep, ac- 
cording to the size. Last autumn, in planting my Lily, Tulip, Hy- 
acinth, and other bulbs, I made a little bed for each of pure sand, 
and then covered well with soil, over which was put a blanket of 
old dressing, then, before snow, a covering of .boughs. The bulbs 
never came up so grandly, nor grew so rapidly before. October is 
the best month for bedding out, later will do, and many do not 
plant their Lilies till the frost is out in the spring. 

The two leading Lily growers of this country are John L. Child 
and V. H. Hallock & Thorp, of Queens, N. Y. 



152 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 




DOUBLE WHITE BOUVARDIA, "ALFRED NEUNER. 

sHIS is indeed a novelty among this class of valuable plants, 
fClfS being the first double ever known. It is said to be equal 
rajs'*© if not superior, in profuse blooming quality, and vigorous, 
^ ' healthy growth, to the single white variety, Davidsonii, of 
which it is a sport. The flowers are rather larger than those of 
the single flowering, and composed of three perfect rows of petals, 
of the purest waxy white color, each floweret resembling a minia- 
ture Tuberose. The trusses are large and perfect, and are freely 
and without interruption produced, even on the small si'de -shoots* 
which generally make no flowers on the single one. It is highly 
praised by Mr. Thomas Meehan, florist and editor of the Garden- 
ers Monthly, and by Mr. Henry A. Dreer, florist, of Philadelphia. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 153 

"A grand thing," says Mr. Meehan. "Gives great satisfaction. 
It has excelled our expectation," says Mr. Dreer. 

My own specimen, about four inches in height, has twelve buds; 
two small clusters are on side-shoots. The very fine illustration 
of this Bouvardia we give our readers, has been kindly loaned by 
the Ellis Brothers, Keene, N. H., who have a fine stock which they 
are offering to the public. 

Mr. Henry Cannell says, " Of all plants the Bouvardia, in our 
opinion, excels for cut flowers, no matter either for button-hole bou- 
quets or table decoration ; a spray of it is sure to be most promi- 
nent and pleasing, and the odor of several kinds is deliciously re- 
freshing, and if well-grown they will more or less continue flower- 
ing nine months out of the year. Strange to say, they need only 
the ordinary, course of cultivation of the winter-flowering Zonal 
Pelargonium ; hitherto they have been treated as a stove plant, 
whereas they only need a temperature not higher than 50 to 6o°, 
and in the summer to have every attention, like a specimen Chrys- 
anthemum, and on the first appearance of frost to be taken into 
the house, and when growing and flowering, to be supplied with 
liquid manure occasionally." 

Our only experience with this genus has been with Bouvardia 
Humboldtii Corymbiflora, and it has proved to be a very valuable 
plant. Its pure white flowers are produced in large trusses ; their 
tubes are three inches in length, and very fragrant. It blooms very 
freely and for a long period. This variety and Vreelandii are the 
best single white. 

Liantha is a dazzling scarlet, and a very profuse bloomer. Ele~ 
gans, salmon-scarlet ; large and fine. Lady Hyslop, a light rose. 
Canspicua is of a blood-red color, with whitish tube. Bicalor, a 
summer-flowering variety. Flower tube purple, with tint of blue: 
and delicately mottled flesh, tipped with white. These last we find, 
only in Cannell's Floral Guide. 



154 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

I have no difficulty in keeping my Bouvardia in the cellar, the 
leaves drop off, but they come out anew in the spring. 

CAMELLIA JAPONICA. 

This is a very popular genus on account of their rich dark-green 
leaves, and beautiful rose-like flowers. They are hardy greenhouse 
plants, and thrive best in light loam mixed with sand and peat, but 
will do well in light soil without the peat. It will not flourish in a 
limestone soil. Mr. Vick gives the following in his Magazine : 

" The Camellia Japonica was sent to England in 1739 by Father 
Kamel, a missionary, for whom it was named. As a house-plant 
the Camellia requires considerable care, on account of the tendency 
of the flower buds to drop off. A northern exposure is best, and a 
temperature of from forty to fifty degrees. When the buds are 
swelling, water plentifully with warm water, but allow none to 
stand in the saucer. Sponge the leaves once a week. In the 
spring put the plant out in a shady place on the north side of a 
house or fence, not under the drip of trees, and water it every day. 
Set the pots on a hard bottom, so that no worms can get into them. 
They form their flower beds during the summer, and at this time a 
good growth of wood must be encouraged. 

" In the Southern States the Camellia can be raised with not more 
than ordinary care ; at the North it must be considered entirely a 
green-house plant, and as such will always be highly prized. We 
are often asked how it should be cared for as a house-plant, and to 
all such, in the northern part of the country, where it is necessary 
to maintain good fires in warm houses for several months of the 
year, we have no hesitation in saying, let it alone, do not expend 
care and labor where there is so little prospect of reward." 

Camellias are of many hues, and some are beautifully striped. 
Gen. Lafayette, bright rose, striped with white, imbricated. Bell 
Romann, imbricated, large flower and petals, rose striated with 
bright crimson. Matteo Molfino, petals cerise, with pure white 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 155 

band down center. Mrs. Lurmann, crimson, spotted, very beautiful 
Pure colors of white, red, crimson, rose and carmine, can be obtained. 

Azalea. — Shrubby green-house plants of easy cultivation. Very 
showy and hardy. Like the Camellia, they are found in all the 
leading colors, and also striped, blotched and spotted. They are 
both single and double. 

Alexander II, is white, striped with vermilion ; edges of petals 
fringed. Aurelia, white, striped with rosy orange, amaranth spots. 
Flag of Truce, is a pure double white, very fine. Her Majesty, is 
rosy-lilac, edged with white. Alice, rose, blotched with vermilion ; 
double. 

Mr. Vick gives the following directions : " Azaleas need a light 
soil of sandy loam, to which should be added one-half leaf mold. 
Repotting should be done in May, trimming the tops to bring 
them into shape. Then plunge in some sheltered spot in the 
garden. In September the plants should be brought in under 
cover, or into a cool room. They do best when the temperature 
ranges from forty degrees at night to sixty-five or seventy by day. 
The foliage should be showered once a week, but care must be 
taken that the roots are not over-watered, as they rot easily. 
Small plants bloom well, but their beauty increases as they get age 
and size. The flowers appear on the terminal shoots, and are from 
one inch to two and a half inches in diameter. 

Azaleas if left to themselves will develop long shoots, that after 
a time become naked below and are furnished with leaves only at 
their extremities. Flower stems are formed on the new wood of 
each summer's growth, consequently the amount of bloom, other 
things being equal, depends upon the amount of new wood annually 
produced. In order to have plants of good shape when they be- 
come large, it is necessary to give attention to pinching and train- 
ing them from the first. The pyramid form, or more properly that 
of a cone, and rounded at the top, is considered the best for the 



156 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS, 

plant, as it allows the greatest exposure of leaf-surface. Two prin- 
cipal methods are adopted to regulate the growth and bring plants 
into shape: one is by successive pinchings as the growth proceeds, 
the other by allowing long shoots to grow and then bending and 
training them down, thus causing many of the dormant buds along 
their whole length to break and develop into shoots. A skillful 
combination of the two methods is probably better than either ex- 
clusively." 

Mr John Dick, Philadelphia, has the largest stock of Camellias 
and Azaleas, it is stated, in the United States. Their catalogue 
list of these plants embraces more than a hundred varieties, to 
which we refer our readers. 




S E have come to see your garden, said a gentleman with a 
lady in company. They were from a neighboring town. 
H This two weeks after the heavy frost ! 

I told them my garden was in the stable, and thither 
I piloted them. It was not a very small garden if it was in a sta- 
ble. A hundred or more plants had been hurriedly removed from 
the beds the day before that freezing night ! There they were, in 
the soiled pots just as taken from the ground, or packed closely in 
boxes. Not very attractive looking, in one sense, yet in another 
they were, for they were bright, healthy appearing plants — leaves 
as fresh as when in the open air, pretty Geraniums in bloom, a mass 
of Lobelia, attractive with their tiny blue flowers, Coleus of varied 
hues, and even a few Roses struggling into bloom. 

Then we strolled among the despoiled beds, and the Pansies, so 
large and pert, elicited admiration, and the Sweet Peas, just as fra- 
grant as though blight were not all around them, while dear little 
Mignonnette seemed to have taken a new lease of life. 



TALKS ABOUT FL WERS. 157 

Yesterday I arranged in a shallow glass dish as handsome a bou- 
quet as I have had for the season. Sweet Clover sprays, Mignon- 
nette and fragrant Geranium leaves for the foundation all around the 
dish, a few bunches of the little white wax balls, with their glossy 
leaves, Geranium blossoms, and, lots of Sweet Peas, from the most 
delicate shades to the deepest, and bunches of splendid Pansies, 
Sweet Alyssum, a bit of purple Verbena here and there, and white- 
eyed Phlox. It was just lovely. 

When the evidence was sure that frost was surely coming, and a 
great many plants must be taken up in a few hours' time, I was so 
glad that full half of them were in pots. I could never have pot- 
ted a third of them in the time. The great object was, to get them 
sheltered, and the repotting could be done at my leisure. 

But I almost changed my mind the other day after toiling sever- 
al hours at the business. So many pots to wash ! then fill with 
fresh earth, and set the plant. O dear, wasn't I tired ! But then 
the wide door was open, the day was lovely, and I rather think 
potting plants in a stable is better than potting out of doors on a 
cold day, and when one is in a great, hurry. Plants that are in 
pots plunged in the ground do not grow so many roots, and that 
is another advantage. 

MY WINDOW BOX. 

Perhaps I may as well tell you about my most important win- 
dow box.^ I had it made last autumn, and I was greatly pleased 
with it. It is made of zinc, size one yard long, fourteen inches 
broad, seven inches in depth. To give it strength it is framed at 
the top with wood. You can have this of black walnut, or stained 
in imitation. You can have the box painted any color you wish, 
or leave it unpainted. In the center is Croton " Weismanni," on 
one side of it a fine Eranthemum pictum ; its green leaves look as 
though they were painted with white streaks ; on the other side, 
Acalypha " Macafeeana." These are the largest plants in my box, 



158 TALKS ABO UT FLO WERS, 

and they do not exceed ten inches in height. There are sixty- 
plants in all, mostly averaging six inches in height, but a few are 
quite small. They consist of very choice Geraniums — some of 
them handsome-leaved — variegated Abutilons, Lemon Verbena, 
two bright Achy ran thes, six very beautiful Coleuses, and four fine 
Begonias. There are others I cannot stop to specify. You will 
see that I have filled my box with what are, in themselves, beauti- 
ful without the aid of flowers, though I expect to have a few of 
these by-and-by. I am perfectly satisfied with it, however, just as 
it is. I had a large German Ivy growing out of doors, which con- 
sisted of several long vines. This I planted in one corner of the 
box, and then drooped and twined it on the outside. The change 
to indoor life caused the large green leaves to fall off, but already 
new ones have put forth, and the vines are rapidly growing. Ev- 
erything else had been previously prepared so that there was no 
change in their leafage after being put in the box. It is a great 
addition to the beauty of the box to have vines of pretty foliage 
drape the sides. This autumn I have had it placed on a small, low 
table with castors, so I can change the plants every week, and thus 
avoid that turning toward the window which they always assume 
if kept in one position. 

I first put in drainage, and then filled the box with rich, mellow 
earth in which was a mixture of one-third sand. I have been thus 
particular in my description, for many, no doubt, who, like- myself, 
have to make the most of limited space, will be glad to know just 
how to keep the greatest number of plants to the best advantage. 
Not only is there a saving of room, but of labor, and it is more 
cleanly. 

HYACINTHS. 

Among the essentials for winter flowers are the bulbs. Of these 
the hyacinth takes the lead. They are so easily grown ; so lovely 
and so fragrant that they are worthy of a place in every collection. 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 159 

They should be planted so that the upper surface of the bulb is 
visible. Water liberally and then put away in a cool dark place 
for several weeks, six weeks is none too long, and some I allow to 
remain a longer time, bringing them to the light at intervals so as to 
have a succession of flowers. They are very effective planted in a 
group. They are very pretty in hyacinth glasses, but this method 
ruins the bulbs for future use. Planted out they will sometimes 
flower. The best time to plant them in the border is in October, 
but the first of November will do. It is a good plan to make a 
little bed of sand for the bulb, and then cover with light porous 
soil. Hyacinths are classed as tall and dwarf, single and double. 
The Roman Hyacinth is the earliest bloomer, coming into flower 
about the holidays if started in season. The spikes are small and 
flowers rather scattering. As soon as the blooms fade, the stalk 
should be removed, and when the leaves turn yellow, they can be 
cut off, and the bulb dried and packed in paper bags and kept till 
time for autumn planting. 

Hyacinth bulbs come from Holland. About Haarlem the rub- 
bish heaps are hyacinths, and the air is oppressive with their per- 
fume. 

In California there grows what is called the Twining Hyacinth. 
It grows in the mountains, and twines about the bushes, sometimes 
going up eight and ten feet. After it gets to the top of the bush 
and rests awhile, it lets go of the earth and goes on blooming for 
months, regardless of the burning sun. The flower stem breaks 
off near the ground, and the flowers are kept swinging in the air 
supported only by the bush about which it twines. The color is 
deep rose, and it is said to be very pretty. The picture of it cer- 
tainly looks attractive. It is a large cluster composed of dozens of 
blossoms. 

For flowering in the house the Polyanthus Narcissus are very 
desirable. They can be put into glasses as well as the Hyacinth, 



160 TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 

but the most natural method is in a pot of earth, and the bulb is in a 
better condition for after use. The Jonquils are also pretty. Snowdrops, 
Scillas and the Crocus are cheap bulbs, and planted in the autumn will 
show their bright, sweet faces soon after the snow is gone. They are 
also very fine for house culture. Should be planted in groups. 

Tulips ought to have a place in every garden. They make a brilliant 
show in the Spring, when the beds are bare of other flowers, and afford 
bloom for a long time, if a good assortment is selected. The pretty little 
dwarf Due Van Thols are early bloomers and very gay. They are ad- 
mirable also for the house, and by planting in September, will come into 
flower in December. There are early single and double Tulips, and also 
late bloomers, so that by having a variety, the border may look gay for a 
long time. The Parrot Tulips are large and very brilliant in color, and 
picturesque in appearance. All of these varieties succeed in ordinary 
garden soil. They ought to be planted in October or November, about 
four to six inches apart, and about four inches under the surface. Be- 
fore severe frost they need to be protected by branches of evergreen, 
straw or leaves. After blooming, and the leaves have died down, they 
can be taken up, dried and stored till autumn, if the bed is needed for 
other flowers. 

The Bulb catalogues issued by leading florists in the autumn, and 
sent free to all applicants, will enable you to select just what you want. 



INSECTS. 



In a work of this character it seems needful to treat more fully of 
those pests which prove so destructive to plant life, than we have in our 
brief references. 

The Aphis or green louse is the one that most frequently infests our 
plants, and the rapidity with which it multiplies, is astonishing. Reau- 
mer has proved that in five generations one aphis may be the progeni- 
tor of six thousand millions, and there may be ten generations in a year ! 

The method most generally adopted for their destruction is fumigation 
with tobacco. As this is attended with considerable difficulty, a weak 
solution may be used quite as effectively. We have had no experience 



TALKS ABOUT FLOWERS. 161 

with either method, having used another with good success for several 
years. This is white hellebore which we usually apply in the powder 
when the Rose-bushes are wet with dew or rain, bending the branches 
over, so that the application can be made chiefly on the under side of 
the leaves, where the pests are found. Two or three times proves suf- 
ficient. For our house plants we usually make a solution, by putting half 
an ounce of the hellebore into pretty warm water, and letting it stand 
for several hours, stirring it up however, before spraying the leaves. 
Afterward, the plants need to be washed. 

For the Scale a strong solution of soap-suds applied with a sponge or 
a small stiff brush. A tooth brush is very suitable for this purpose. 

For Mealy Bug, a mixture of one part alcohol and three parts water, 
applying with a feather, or what is better, a camel hair brush. Another 
method is to use kerosene in the same way. A florist who has practiced 
this for eight years, says it is sure death to the insect. The feather 
should be brushed all over the mealy-looking substances found usually 
in the axils of the leaves. 

Worms in Pots. Lime water is a safe and effectual remedy for the 
little white worms often found in the soil. Slake the lime in water and 
after it has settled, pour off the clear water and drench the earth. 

Ants, Various remedies have proved effective. One is to take a 
vial or a cup nearly filled with sweet oil, and sink it in the ground where 
the ants resort, so that the rim is on a level with the surface. The ants 
are very fond of it, but it is sure death to them. 

A German writer says that carbolic acid and water will drive ants 
away from any grounds — one hundred parts of water to one of the acid. 
Mix in a tub and stir repeatedly for twenty -four hours, taking off the 
scum that rises to the top. 

Kerosene or coal-oil mixed with water has proved very successful in 
the destruction of noxious insects and grubs. A tablespoonful of the 
oil to two gallons of water is the rule for tender plants ; for hardy ones 
it will be necessary probably to have it of greater strength. As the com- 
pound does not mix readily, it needs to be thoroughly stirred, and then 
quickly applied. The best way is to draw it back and forth a few times 
in a syringe, and then apply. 

Water tainted with coal-oil, poured into little holes made in mole 
tracks, will, it is said, drive them effectually away. 
1 



INDEX OF FLORISTS. 

For the convenience of our readers who may wish to procure varieties of plants of 
which we have treated in this work, we give the address of reliable florists who make 
a specialty of those connected with their address. All of them will furnish their cat- 
alogues free when requested. 

Pansies. Seeds for the Wild Garden. B. K. Bliss & Sons, New York City. 
Verbenas, Petunias, Fuchsias. C. E. Allen, Brattleboro, Vt. 
Geraniums. Innisfallen Greenhouses, Springfield, Ohio. 

Pelargoniums, Ornamental Foliage Plants, Gloxinias. John Saul, Wash* 
ington, D. C. 

Gladiolus, Single Dahlias, Novelty Dahlia. V. H. Hallock & Thorp, 
Queens, N. Y. 

Coleuses— New Hybrids, Drac/enas. H. A. Dreer, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Chinese Primroses, New Primula, Double White Bouvardia. Ellis Broth- 
ers, Keene, N. H. 

New Monthly Pelargoniums. John G. Heinl, Terre Haute, Ind. 

Wistaria. E. H. Ellwanger, Rochester, N. Y. 

Amaryllis, Rare Varieties. John L. Child, Queens, N. Y. 

Lilies a Specialty. John L. Child ; V. H. Hallock & Thorp, Queens, N. Y. 

Camellias and Azaleas. John Dick jr., 53d St., and Darby Road, Philadelphia, Pa. 

AUTHOR'S NOTES, 

VicWs Illustrated Magazine is the best Floricultural Monthly we know of for amft- 
teurs. We are indebted to it for much of the information we have obtained respect- 
ing the culture of flowers, and have drawn largely from its pages in this work. There 
is a finely colored frontispiece in each number, and it is otherwise fully illustrated. 
Its entire arrangement evidences the fine aesthetic taste of its editor and publisher. 
It is very low at $1.25 per year. Beautifully bound vols., $1.75. Mr. James Vick, 
Rochester, N. Y. 

The Gardener 's Monthly and Horticulturist takes a wider range, treating not only of 
Flowers, but also of Fruit and Vegetable Gardening, Natural History and Science, 
Forestry, etc. The ample Notes pertaining to the several departments, by its editor, 
Mr. Thomas Meehan, are of special value. Published by Chas. H. Marot, Philadel- 
phia, Pa., at $2.10 per annum. 
(162) 



"AN ESSAY ON ROSES." 

NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 

Mrs. M. D. Wellcome of Yarmouth, Me., whose pleasant and helpful 
" Talks About Flowers " are familiar to the readers of The Journal, has 
published in a neat pamphlet, An Essay on Roses, which was read before 
the Maine Pomological Convention last March, and has since been re- 
vised and enlarged for publication. This essay treats the subject his- 
torically and descriptively. It considers the classification of Roses, tells 
what Roses to plant, gives suggestions as to the best mode of culture, 
and furnishes a list of the best hybrids and of the best ever-blooming 
varieties. Mrs. Wellcome writes with enthusiasm, and from a thorough 
knowledge and a considerable experience. All lovers of roses, and all 
amateur horticulturists will find the little monograph interesting and 
suggestive. Boston Journal. 

The valuable and instructive Essay on Roses read before the Maine 
Pomological Convention by Mrs. M. I). Wellcome, has been issued in a 

neat pamphlet Our readers who are familiar with Mrs. Well- 

come's writings, will know how to value this production of her busy pen. 

Portland Traiiscript. 

Our well-appreciated correspondent, Mrs. M. D. Wellcome, has pub- 
lished in a neat pamphlet, an essay upon " Roses." . . . . It is an inter- 
esting and practical little manual, and will prove a valuable aid to young 
horticulturists. Zion's Herald. 

The Waterville Mail says : " Of this essay it is sufficient to say that 
it was prepared by a graceful writer, — a well-known contributor to the 
literary department of several prominent Journals, and a skillful florist — 
and that it secured the approbation of the Convention before whom it 
was read, and the representatives of the agricultural press." 

Rev. J. M. Orrock, editor of Messiah's Herald, after describing the 
work, adds : " The author says in her introduction, ' I have brought you 
a bouquet of Roses, and there is little of my own but the string that 
binds them.' It is indeed, a pretty bouquet, and we hope many of her 
friends will want to see and enjoy it." 

Mr. Samuel L. Boardman Esq., editor of the Home Farm, says : 
" This little booklet about Roses is just the plain, sensible guide all am- 
ateur growers will be profited by reading. There is just enough of his- 
tory and sentiment in its opening pages, ample directions for culture, 
treatment, etc., closing with descriptions of the most desirable Roses, 
and lists from which to make selections for larger cultivators. Mechan- 
ically, the little book is as delicate as a rosebud ; and every lover of this 
queenly flower should procure a copy." 

The " Essay" is issued in a neatly illustrated pamphlet of 24 pages, 
with ornamental cover. Price 15 cents. For sale by the author, Yar- 
mouth, Me. 



GERANIUMS! 

We offer a fine assortment of Geraniums at 10 CENTS EACH, for your 
selection; or we will send 16 FINE SORTS of our own selection, all 
labeled, prepaid, by mail, for a remittance of $1.25. We have by far the largest 
stock of Geraniums in this country. 

Roses, Ever Blooming. 

We have a fine collection of Roses that we offer, strong flowering plants, 
labeled, at lO CENTS EACH, your choice; or we will send 16 FINE 
PLANTS of our own selection, prepaid, by mail, for a remittance of $1.25. 

We also offer a fine assortment of all kinds of flowering plants at the above 
low-price. Send for a catalogue. 

Address, 

INNISFALLEN GREENHOUSES, 

SPRINGFIELD, O. 

¥lie I<ktejft jWelty in ffofej*. 
NEW HYBRID TEAS. 

This new class of ROSES combine HARDINESS, CONSTANT BLOOM, 
and DELICATE COLORING. They originated in England, and are now offered 
for the first time in this country. For full description of these Roses, and price, send 
for catalogue. 

E. 0. ALLEIsT, Brattleboro, Vermont. 
_____ 

We wish to obtain 25,000 New Subscribers to 

THE FLORAE MONTHLY 

during the next few months, and we propose to give to every reader of this paper 

Fifty Cents 'WortJx of CJxoice Flower SeeoZs. 

Our offer is to send, Free of Cost, 50 cents worth of Choice Flower Seeds to each and every one 
who will send us 25 two cent postage stamps for the FLOK iX MONTHLY one year. Seeds sent 
free by return mail. Specimen copies free. Address 

W. E. MORTON & CO., FLORISTS, 615 Congress Street, Portland, Me. 

(NATURAL FLOWERS PRESERVED TO LAST FOR YEARS.) U? ® 





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